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THE FLYING BUCCANEER 




/ 

THE 

FLYING BUCCANEER 


A Novel of Adventure in the Skies 


BY 

Jack :Binns / 


NICHOLAS L. BROWN 

NEW YORK, :: 1923 



Copyright, 1923 
By 

NICHOLAS L. BROWN 


1 


All Rights Reserved including 
Dramatic and Photoplay Rights 


©C1A760802 ^ 


NOV -9 ’23 



Printed in U. S. A. 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


CHAPTER ONE 

George, something terrible has hap- 
I lpened. You must read the paper right 
away.” 

Mrs. George Cowl, wife of the Secretary of 
Air, in a state of great excitement met her hus¬ 
band at the foot of the stairs as he descended, 
and handed him a copy of the Washington 
Tribune. 

‘‘Look at this!” she exclaimed. 

Taking the proffered newspaper Cowl’s eyes 
fell immediately upon the eight column “ ban¬ 
ner” line spread across the front page: 

TRANSPACIFIC MAIL AIRSHIP DESTROYED BY AERIAL 
PIRATE IN MIDOCEAN 

Quickly he read the sub-heads, which told in 
terse sentences a story of piracy in the Twen¬ 
tieth Century more amazing than any exploit of 
the roving buccaneers who struck terror through 
the Spanish Main two hundred years ago. 

Giant Rigid Airship Langley Shot Down Midway 
between Honolulu and Manila from Altitude 
of 10,000 feet . 

5 


6 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


Survivors Picked Up by Cargo Steamer 
Yang-Tsze. 

Masked Aerial Pirate Escapes with Valuable 
Cargo Taken from Langley . 

“Good God!” lie exclaimed, then turning to 
his wife, he added, “I’ll have to go right over 
to the office, Dear.” 

Snatching his hat, Cowl hurriedly kissed his 
wife, and then rushed out, leaving his break¬ 
fast untouched. He ran as he had not run for 
years across the streets to the office in the gov¬ 
ernment building, dodging the early morning 
traffic and miraculously escaping injury. 

Breathlessly, he dashed into the elevator, to 
the astonishment of Jim the night caretaker who 
had not yet been relieved. 

“Take me right up Jim,” he shouted. 

Before the caretaker could close the doors of 
the elevator, Theodore Mitchell, the Assistant 
Secretary of Air rushed in, as excited as his 
chief. The two men looked at each other for 
several seconds with an expression of utter be¬ 
wilderment written across their faces. In one 
momentary flash each read the other’s thoughts, 
and then Mitchell broke out: 

“It’s evident that you’ve read the paper, 
George, or you wouldn’t be here so early. What 
do you think of it?” 

“I don’t know yet,” replied Cowl, “I just 
glanced over the headlines and rushed right 
over. I haven’t read the report yet. I hurried 
here to see w T hether we had been officially ad- 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


55 


vised of it.” 

When the elevator stopped on the tenth floor, 
the two men rushed out and ran into Cowl's of¬ 
fice. 

“You read the newspaper account, while I 
call up the telegraph office," said Mitchell. 

Cowl sat down somewhat nervously, and be¬ 
gan to read: 

Manila, P. I., Sept. 26, 1952.—(By Associated 
Press.) The mail airship Langley flying from 
Yokohama to San Francisco was attacked and 
shot down by a mysterious airplane yesterday, 
according to a brief wireless dispatch received 
here from the Captain of the steamer Yang- 
Tsze. The passengers and crew of the Langley 
were picked up by the Yang-Tsze which is pro¬ 
ceeding to this port. 

The mysterious airplane which attacked the 
airship flew away in a northeasterly direction 
after removing all the valuable cargo and sink¬ 
ing the disabled airship. 

The details of this act of piracy are contained 
in a later wireless report sent by Captain Car- 
ruthers, commander of the Langley, from the 
Yang-Tsze to Captain Deverest, commander of 
the naval district, in this city. This report as 
given out here reads as follows: 

“September 25th, Airship Langley flying on a 
course due East in Latitude 20.35 N., Longi¬ 
tude 170.45 E., overtaken by large airplane of 
flying boat type. Without warning airplane 
opened fire at one thousand yards using three 
inch incendiary shells from automatic cannon. 


8 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


“Third shell penetrated valve in number three 
ballonet, releasing helium gas. Firing com¬ 
menced while Langley flying at altitude of 
10,000 feet. Langley began to settle, and I or¬ 
dered colors hoisted as distress signal. Air¬ 
plane then ceased firing. 

“Langley rapidly settled to surface. Attack¬ 
ing airplane spiralled down, landed approxi¬ 
mately same time as Langley, and then proceed¬ 
ed in hailing distance. Commander and crew 
of airplane all wore peculiar mask-like helmets. 
Former ordered us to launch boats and abandon 
Langley. 

“Sea smooth, no wind. Boats launched from 
disabled Langley without difficulty, and passen¬ 
gers taken off quietly and in good order. Com¬ 
mander of airplane ordered us to lay off half 
a mile from Langley. Soon as transfer of pas¬ 
sengers complete, I ordered officers in charge 
of each lifeboat to obey this command, as at¬ 
tacking airplane had assumed threatening atti¬ 
tude. 

“Crew of airplane boarded Langley, and were 
observed removing part of cargo. This con¬ 
tinued half an hour, then airplane lay off two 
hundred yards and opened fire on envelope of 
Langley with its three inch cannon. Langley 
disappeared below surface a few seconds after 
the fifth shot was fired. 

“Airplane then came over to our boats, and 
her commander megaphoned across that he 
would wireless for assistance. He then took off. 
Half an hour later he returned, and informed 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


9 


us that he had sighted a steamer 15 miles SSE 
of us, and had requested her to come to our 
assistance, giving our position. 

“The airplane again took off and disappeared 
in a Northeasterly direction at terrific speed. 
One hour later cargo steamer Yang-Tsze hove in 
sight and picked us up. Entire ship’s company 
unharmed, and passengers all well. Attacking 
airplane bore no international marks, or any¬ 
thing of an identifying character.” 

It is understood that Captain Carruthers in¬ 
cluded a complete and detailed description of 
the piratical airplane in his wireless report, but 
Captain Deverest here refused to make public 
that portion of the dispatch on the ground that 
it was confidential official information. 

The remarkable incident has caused quite a 
stir here, and the aerial transport companies are 
considering the advisability of cancelling all 
schedules until adequate protection of the air¬ 
ways has been established by the Department of 
Air in Washington. 

Officials of the Trans-Pacific and Oriental 
Aerial Line, owners of the Langley, have cabled 
details of the affair to the head office at San 
Francisco and requested that the Westbound 
airship Wilbur Wright, which is due to leave 
early tomorrow morning, be held up until the 
government puts effective patrol units along the 
course. The officials were doubtful, however, 
whether the cable would arrive in time. 


CHAPTER TWO 


Scarcely had Cowl finished reading the news¬ 
paper story when the door of his office opened 
and Mitchell entered with Arthur G. Ingleton, 
the Secretary of the Navy. The latter’s wor¬ 
ried expression seemed to indicate that the grav¬ 
ity of the situation was even greater than wasi 
apparent from the newspaper report. Looking 
at his colleague, he said: 

6 ‘This is a pretty serious situation, George. 
I’ve just received a cipher cable from Deverest 
at Manila giving me complete details of the af¬ 
fair. From his description of the pirate it looks 
as though we have got a pretty desperate char¬ 
acter to deal with. His airplane appears to be 
something entirely new. 

“I am greatly worried, because as you know 
Mrs. Ingleton and Mary are due to leave for 
the Philippines on the Wilbur Wright this morn¬ 
ing. I have got a long distance call in to San 
Francisco, trying to stop them from leaving un¬ 
til we get this fellow. We can’t hold up the 
commercial lines, but there is no telling where 
he will strike next. I have cabled Deverest to 
make temporary arrangements to police the air¬ 
ways with naval units until we make some or- 
10 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


11 


ganized effort to hunt this desperado. 

“My chief anxiety is for Mary, because I 
doubt whether I shall reach her in time to pre¬ 
vent her departure on the Wilbur Wright. She 
has had her heart set on this Orient trip for the 
past six months. Here’s Deverest’s report. 
I’ve had it deciphered. You read it while I 
try to get the long distance operator again.” 

Cowl took the message while Ingleton went 
back to his own office to telephone. The mes¬ 
sage contained the report of Captain Carruthers 
as given in the newspaper account, but included 
the following description of the pirate machine, 
which was withheld from the press. 

“ Carruthers report shows the attacking air¬ 
plane unlike any known design. He states it was 
a monoplane flying boat, apparently of metal 
construction throughout. The boat body was 
squat and wide, but entirely enclosed. It had 
the appearance of being constructed of plates 
riveted together like a steamship. Length of 
boat approximately 105 feet. Tail construction 
seemed to be very small, but otherwise conven¬ 
tional. Spread of wings about 110 feet, and 
chord (width) about 11 feet. Wing was in¬ 
ternally braced and was two feet thick at a 
point two feet from leading edge. Wing cov¬ 
ering also had appearance of plates riveted 
together. 

“It is equipped with a disappearing marine 
screw propeller for cruising purposes on the 
surface of the ocean. In the air it is driven 
forward by two pusher propellers, but according 


12 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


to Carruthers who examined it carefully, there 
is no sign of any engine housing, and just 
where the engines are located he could not de¬ 
termine. It was equipped with a three inch 
automatic cannon, on a disappearing mount over 
the nose of the enclosed hull. The airplane ap¬ 
parently is capable of prodigious speed, that 
Carruthers could not account for.” 

Mitchell had read the report over his chief’s 
shoulder. 

“It doesn’t tell us very much, does it?” he 
queried. 

A few minutes later Ingleton returned, hav¬ 
ing failed to get his call. The operator had 
told him there would be an hour’s delay. His 
frantic appeal that it was an urgent government 
call had failed to expedite matters. To Cotvl 
he said: 

“Judging from that report, George, we have a 
pretty hard task before us, and the only way 
to handle that brigand will be by means of a 
thoroughly organized plan. As I said, I have 
told Deverest to use the naval units to take care 
of the Eastern Pacific airways, and I shall cable 
Smith at Honolulu as well as Harrington at San 
Francisco to put all their craft on patrol duty. 
You had better send similar orders to your com¬ 
manders, don’t you think?” 

At this moment Air Marshall Charles B. 
Hartley, military director of the Air Service, 
entered the room in a state of suppressed ex¬ 
citement. 

“I would willingly give up my commission, if 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


13 


only Joe Levanter were here now,” he said. 
“He was by far the best man we had, and 
would have been just the one for this job. He 
was a regular daredevil, but at the same time 
shrewder than anybody else in the service. I 
can’t imagine what became of him.” 

The four officials then held a conference to 
decide their plans. After some considerable dis¬ 
cussion Ingleton jumped up, and started to leave 
the room saying as he went: 

“I am so worried about Mary and her mother. 
I am trying to get them off the airship before 
it leaves. I am going to try and get San Fran¬ 
cisco again. I’ll be back shortly.” 


CHAPTER THREE 


The scene of activity that marks the pending 
departure of a trans-oceanic airship was being 
enacted at the great airport of San Francisco 
just as the first streaks of dawn broke over the 
Eastern sky. At the peak of terminal tower 
number six, one thousand feet above the ground, 
the airship Wilbur Wright was moored by its 
nose. The airship moved slowly and sluggishly 
back and forth in a small arc of a circle when¬ 
ever the fitful breeze caught its glistening sides, 
as though it were a mammoth weathercock in¬ 
dicating the direction of the wind. 

The top of the tower was a huge revolving 
globe with a vast socket on one side. It was 
in this socket that the nose of the airship was 
automatically locked, the entire tower being a 
mooring post that enabled the airship to swing 
to the action of the wind in the same manner 
that a steamship swings on its anchor chain to 
the action of the tide. 

Upon the airship the rigging crew was busily 
engaged in unscrewing the feed pipes from the 
gas valves, after the last volume of helium gas 
had been taken into the ballonets. The buoy¬ 
ancy of the gas naturally kept the giant airship 
14 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


15 


afloat in the sea of air and relieved the tower 
from all strain of the ship’s great weight. 

Through the center of the tower was a shaft 
for passenger and freight elevators. The latter 
were running at maximum speed, taking up the 
last pieces of cargo. 

On the aerodrome below, the big transconti¬ 
nental passenger airplane had just landed on 
the concrete runway after a fifteen hour non¬ 
stop flight through the night from New York. 
It taxied over to the landing platform at the 
foot of the tower, after the pilot had drawn up 
the retractible wings to the sides of the fuse¬ 
lage. 

As it drew alongside the landing platform, a 
door in the side of the fuselage swung open, 
and the workers on the platform put out a gang¬ 
plank to the door. The passengers then filed 
out, carrying their small hand baggage. They 
walked into the waiting hall inside the base of 
the tower. Here was situated the restaurant, 
wireless station, and all other facilities neces¬ 
sary to a terminal station. 

Immediately after disembarking the passen¬ 
gers trooped into the restaurant and ate break¬ 
fast, while the terminal employes were busily 
engaged in taking their baggage up to the air¬ 
ship. 

Among the passengers who had just arrived 
on the trans-continental airplane were Mrs. In- 
gleton, wife of the Secretary of the Navy, and 
her daughter Mary. With them was Wing Com¬ 
mander Kenneth Fitzgerald, an aviation officer 


16 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


who had been transferred from a departmental 
executive job at Washington to the command 
of the air station at Manila. He was on his 
way to take over his new command in the East. 

In Washington he had been a close friend 
of the Secretary of the Navy and his family, and 
very naturally Mr. Ingleton had asked the com¬ 
mander to look after Mrs. Ingleton and Mary 
during their voyage, since all three were bound 
for the same destination by the same ship. 

Together with the other passengers the three 
entered the restaurant and breakfasted. 

Mary Ingleton, was a prepossessing athletic 
young lady imbued with the full sense of im¬ 
portance of her twenty-two Summers. From 
the moment of her debut she had been one of 
the reigning bells in Washington society, with 
all the eligible young men of the Capital in her 
retinue as willing slaves. 

She was a blonde with a crowning aureole of 
golden tinged hair and her big flashing blue 
eyes gave a true indication of the independence 
that, formed the basis of her character. She was 
rather tall. Her features were regular, perfect 
and charming. 

She had been the principal of a hundred ro¬ 
mances. All these, however, were but minor in¬ 
cidents that came and went to form the back¬ 
ground of her life. 

Suddenly Washington was confronted with the 
fact that Mary, the acknowledged queen, had 
quit her domain, at the height of her triumphal 
conquests, to travel for no apparent purpose in 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 1% 

the Orient. Her departure, so unexpected, set 
the tongues of gossip and jealousy awagging. 
The coincidence of Fitzgerald’s appointment to 
the Eastern station was developed to the fullest 
extent of its possibilities in the small talk that 
followed. Six months previously, it was recalled, 
Joe Levanter, the dashing young aviator had 
disappeared, and he had been one of Mary’s 
most persistent admirers. He had vanished as 
completely as though the earth had swallowed 
him up. 

Since his disappearance, pointed out gossip, 
there was no doubt about the change that had 
come over Mary. From the central figure in 
the varied activities of social life she had 
changed into a recluse and had begun to take 
her pleasure more seriously. 

With the characteristic imperturbability of 
youth Mary had remained oblivious to the co¬ 
vert glances and whispered remarks of those 
about her. But there was more than mere im¬ 
perturbability that made her gaze so indiffer¬ 
ent, her actions so apathetic. She was absorbed 
in a process of self-study that claimed all her 
mental energies. Stubbornly and deeply she was 
questioning something, probing something, pry¬ 
ing into something. This something, though 
but a memory now, she endeavored to recreate 
into a present reality. And in her tireless effort 
to make the past live again in the present she 
sought an opportunity to reexamine and reap¬ 
praise her actions. Were they altogether right? 
What possible effect did or will they have on 


18 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


her future? How was she to gain that ease and 
tranquility of mind that seem to be the result 
as well as the reward of making a right decision. 
Has her opportunity come and gone? Will she 
ever have another? She did not know, and the 
less she knew the more she thought and specu¬ 
lated on the subject. 

Her mind dwelt continuously upon a scene 
that six months previously had made a profound 
impression upon her. From the moment of its 
enactment she had been in the grip of that men¬ 
tal self-absorption until it began to affect her 
even outwardly so seriously that her parents 
had willingly consented to her eastern trip. 

Even now in the transoceanic air terminal 
for the first time, Mary’s mind, unaffected by 
the sights that were novel to her, reverted to 
the occasion that had persistently beset her. 
In her mind’s eye she pictured for the hun¬ 
dredth time the incident with Joe Levanter that 
was the direct cause of her present unplanned 
journey. Mary was uneasy mentally. She was 
not sure that she hated Levanter, nor was she 
sure that she loved him. Of one thing only 
was she certain, and that was she could not be 
indifferent to the memory of their last meeting. 

He was indeed a remarkable young man who 
had precipitated within her strange, mixed feed¬ 
ings that she could not define. She remembered 
the last call he made upon her at her home in 
Washington. Back upon the screen of her mem¬ 
ory there flashed again a moving picture which 
portrayed every incident of that momentous eve- 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


19 


ning. She saw herself stroll out of the house 
with him across the porch to the rustic seat back 
of the lawn. She again saw him go through the 
impassioned gestures of his proposal, and her 
ears—deaf to the multitudinous noises around 
her—again heard his words repeated from the 
indelible record impressed upon her mind. 

‘ 4 Mary, if you will only say yes the world shall 
be yours and mine. I have just done something 
wonderful that will bring me great fame, and 
I want you to share it with me. Won’t you say 
the word that will make me forever happy, 
dear ?’ ’ 

She again saw his coal black eyes peering 
straight at her with a penetrating gaze, and the 
living intenseness stamped upon his face. She 
saw herself held immovable by the equal strength 
of the opposing forces that were battling within 
her. She saw herself transfixed in this pose of 
painful indecision for what seemed to be eternity, 
until the sound of his voice again broke through 
her reverie. 

“Mary, I must have your answer now, this 
very minute, my life, my future—everything de¬ 
pends upon it.” 

Then as in a dream she heard herself repeat 
the momentous “No” that escaped from her 
lips before she realized she had spoken. Why 
she had said it she did not know then, and the 
constant introspection of the past six months 
had failed to produce a reason. Was it the 
spontaneous response of intuition? 


20 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


Daily for six months she had reviewed the 
scene, and yet even now, as on the day of its 
occurrence she gave an involuntary start as she 
thought of the effect produced by her refusal. 
She again saw the quick change that came over 
Levanter, the rage that suddenly lit up his olive 
brown features and shone from his eyes. She 
again heard him as he spoke with suppressed 
fury in his voice: 

“Mary I love you. I still love you, but evi¬ 
dently to you my feeling has been nothing but 
a pleasant diversion. You have played with it, 
encouraged it. You have led me to believe that 
there was more than hope for me. And now you 
coldly dash that hope to pieces, knowing full well 
that it has been the moving principle of all my 
plans, of all my efforts. ... I don’t know what 
is going to happen to me. But I know one thing. 
You cannot by a mere word detach yourself 
from the fate which you and I have been pre¬ 
paring for ourselves. Whether with me or away 
for me, you too shall bear the responsibility for 
my future as you bore it for my past, and shall 
feel the effects of whatever is in store for me.” 

“Good bye, Mary, but don‘t forget. I shall 
not.” 

As Mary, still enthralled, saw with her mental 
eye the stalwart frame leaping over the fence 
back of the lawn, she felt a tug at her arm. 
Turning around she passed from the realm of 
memory to that of actuality in the person of her 
mother who was exclaiming: 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


21 


“Why, Mary, you haven’t touched your break¬ 
fast, dear. What are you thinking of, child? 
Come now, we shall have to hurry, for the ship 
is leaving in a few minutes.” 

Almost automatically Mary began too eat 
impelled by duty rather than appetite. She 
listened attentively while Fitgzerald with the 
fervor of an expert was explaining everything 
about the station. His own branch of aeronautics 
was concerned chiefly with the lighter than air 
types of air vessels, and he was now in his very 
element, anxious to impart his knowledge to his 
fair ward. 

Breakfast over, the three walked from the 
restaurant to the elevator and ascended with 
other passengers to the landing platform at the 
top of the tower. There a steward took their 
baggage and escorted them along the alleyway 
to their cabins. As soon as they had located 
themselves Fitzgerald took them to the observa 
tion room, and secured for them a favorable 
window seat where they could watch the depart- 
ure of the great airship. 

The view unfolded before their enraptured 
gaze was unforgettable. One thousand feet be¬ 
low they saw the glories of the island-strewn 
San Francisco Bay. It was spread out beneath 
them like a map. They saw it’s shores, and 
those of San Pablo Bay. They saw the mag- 
icent rivers Sacramento and San Joaquin emp¬ 
tying their streams into the beautiful bay. A 
few miles to the north Mount Tamalpais towered 


22 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


above them. On the hazy horizon of the Pacific 
they conld jnst make out the Farallones. Di¬ 
rectly below, the hilly city appeared almost flat. 

Meanwhile the airship was making ready to 
leave. The six engines were now running slowly, 
but the propellors were locked in a horizontal 
position. The captain, megaphone in hand, and 
his officers were on the bridge waiting to give 
the signal to cast off. Friends of the passengers 
were grouped about the balcony beneath the 
mooring globe, waving flags and handkerchiefs. 

Finally the agent of the line left the airship. 
The captain rang an order to the engine room, 
and a moment later the changeable pitch pro- 
pellor on the after engine nacelle was thrown 
into reverse and commenced to revolve slowly. 
Then through the megaphone the captain shouted 
the order to the employes on the tower: “Let 
go!” 

The engineer on the pier touched a button, 
and the electric machinery, moving with swift¬ 
ness and precision, released the clutch that held 
the airship to the tower. The reversed propellor 
pulled the giant frame clear of the tower before 
it could rise. A few moments later the buoyancy 
of the helium gas had lifted it to an altitude of 
ten thousand feet. 

The watchers on the balcony saw the ship 
turn slowly in a circle, and then with gathering 
speed swiftly float to the western horizon. As 
the last farewell cheer died away the telephone 
bell in the main office rang. A clerk reached 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


23 


leisurely over and lifted the receiver to his ear. 
He uttered a languid ‘‘hello!” A voice came 
back immediately: “We have a rush long dis¬ 
tance call from Washington for Miss Mary Ingle- 
ton, a passenger on the airship Wilbur Wright / 9 
it said. 

“Too late,” replied the clerk, “the ship has 
just gone.” 


CHAPTER FOUR 


When Joe Levanter left Mary’s home on the 
day of their final parting he felt a sense of 
vacuous misery overpowering him. All at once 
he became aware of the fact that he had no one 
to turn to, no one to care or live for. All his 
dreams, his youth, his past full of ardor and 
promise had been swept away from him, it 
seemed, by the single movement of a woman’s 
arm. What this arm had meant to him as a 
sustaining prop for his ambitions he realized 
only now, when a sort of dull, flat weakness filled 
his frame. 

He entered his comfortably furnished apart¬ 
ment in one of the fashionable homes of the 
capital and threw himself on a sofa, burying his 
head in the cushion, as if wishing to escape the 
dark and crushing force of his depression. 

For the first time in his life he faced existence 
without a set purpose, without energy, without 
zest. He was a brilliant aeronautical engineer, 
the inventor of many remarkable devices which 
revolutionized the construction of airplanes. He 
was a daring pilot. He was also engaged in 
conducting experiments with a new type of air 
24 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


25 


vessel of his own invention which was considered 
of utmost importance by the United States gov¬ 
ernment in whose employ he was. He was 
internationally known as one of the most original 
and successful builders of airships. His name 
was uttered with respect by scientists in every 
country, and the whole aeronautical world ex¬ 
pected further and even more splendid achieve¬ 
ments of him. He was genuinely loved and ad¬ 
mired by his colleagues, while to those who were 
assigned to assist him in his laboratory work 
and field tests he was an ideal superior and 
companion at the same time. But all this work 
and glory, all this popularity, these personal and 
social triumphs brought him no consolation in 
this hour of anguish, so keen, so humiliating. 

There was his fame of course. But of late it 
had become a source of embarrassment to him 
that was as unusual as it was unwarranted. 
For some time he had been the recipient of 
letters from unknown people residing in various 
parts of Europe and South America, who pro¬ 
fessed a great interest in the work he was doing. 
In a subtle but persistant manner these people 
hinted that with his genius and courage he could 
make his work the foundation of a material 
prosperity far greater than he could possibly 
achieve as a mere government employee. The 
letters came* at regular intervals and bore the 
seals of apparently well situated and even noble 
personages. The last letter he received con¬ 
tained a request for a personal interview to 


26 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


discuss a matter, which the writer was certain 
would prove of interest to Levanter and might 
rebound to the advantage of all parties con¬ 
cerned. Levanter was informed that unless he 
definitely made known his unwillingness to see 
the party seeking an audience with him, the 
latter would call at his residence where it was 
hoped there would be laid the beginning of what 
was certain to prove an amicable as well as 
profitable association. 

This, by some strange association, flashed in 
his mind as he lay a prey to disillusion and 
despondency. Helpless protest stirred some¬ 
where between the intermittent gleams of con¬ 
scious self-analysis. Defiance and hatred oc- 
cassionally welled up within his breast. But the 
confusion and intensity of the reactions *made 
Levanter feel only more dejected, and with list¬ 
less resignation he abandoned himself to the 
tortures of his soul. 

As he thus lay and grappled with the shadows 
of despair the door bell rang. Being alone in 
the house, he was forced to get up and open 
the door. A tall man, immaculately dressed, 
asked if Mr. Levanter was at home and whether 
he could be seen alone. When the latter intro¬ 
duced himself as the gentleman in question, the 
stranger was visibly affected and, making a low 
bow, said he was Monsieur de Bibaud of Mar¬ 
seilles who had asked for the interview. Levan¬ 
ter invited him in. 

After a short pause the visitor said: 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


27 


“I have come here on an important mission. 
I represent an international gronp of investors 
who are anxious to secure your cooperation and 
guidance in a very profitable undertaking. ’ 9 

‘ 6 What is it?” Levanter asked. 

The visitor looked at Levanter intently for 
some time, then answered: 

“It is something that will demand the greatest 
courage and grit. But we know you have that. 
Mr. Levanter, have you ever thought of the 
tremendous riches that is now being carried in 
airships across seas and continents and oceans! 
It is a booty worthy of the bravest. 

Levanter, astonished, made no reply. 

“You are a genius, Mr. Levanter, and genius 
knows no law. Can you be satisfied with the 
paltry offering of the mediocre whom you your¬ 
self teach how to be rich and powerful, when 
you yourself have it in your power to command 
all? . . . Why should you live this life of small 
reward and duty, when you can make a whole 
world your own? You are the master of the 
air. There is no one to dispute your supremacy. 
Your knowledge and skill have built and oper¬ 
ated marvelous machines for others, why not 
use your abilities for yourself? We propose 
to pay you your own price for the invention 
you are now working on. We offer you all the 
money you want for the construction of airplanes 
for our operations. And we invite you to be¬ 
come the head of our organization which has 
every chance of success on its side. Are these 


28 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


terms fair enough? I shall not press you for a 
decision right now. Whenever you are ready 
let me know at the following address (offering 
his card) and we shall have no trouble arranging 
the details. . . . Meanwhile we must part. Good 
bye, Mr. Levanter. We hope to hear from you.” 

Monsieur de Eibaud rose and left. Levanter 
remained sitting in the same position, dazed by 
the offer and its prospects. 

He sat thus all evening and through a long 
and dreary night. He thought of his eventful 
past and of his contemplated future. He thought 
of the woman whose lovely face seemed to link 
the two, only to mock and torment him and to 
deprive him of both. He thought of fleeing and 
secluding himself somewhere. He thought of 
death, of revenge, of tremendous hazards and 
overwhelming sacrifices. He thought of all those 
things that seeth and boil in the heart of a 
rejected lover. 

Then out of the black denseness of his thoughts 
there floated up the dim but piercing flicker of 
the offer he had been made. To his desolate 
soul it shone like a dull-red, turbid smudge of 
light and hope. . . It warmed and caressed and 
beckoned. It promised peace, revenge, forget¬ 
fulness and fortune. . . . 

It made that answer for Levanter for which 
de Eibaud so very tactfully had refused to press. 


CHAPTER FIVE 


Five hundred miles from San Francisco, high 
over the vast expanse of the trackless Pacific 
Ocean, the airship Wilbur W/right was tearing 
through space. All of her six engines were 
running smoothly and sweetly, each turning out 
the power of two thousand horses, sending the 
huge airship forward at an average speed of 
one hundred and twenty miles an hour. 

In the navigating cabin, built into the keel 
and streamlined to the forward end of the envel¬ 
ope, Captain Johnstone and his officers were 
engaged in “shooting the sun” for latitude. On 
the forward lookout post, atop the envelope 90 
feet higher up, stood Howard Redmond, the 
second officer, sextant glued to his eye, engaged 
in the same task. 

The passengers were spread about the ship, 
some taking their morning walk along the 1,000 
foot promenade deck built on top of the envelope. 
Some were in the smoking-room playing cards, 
or getting up a pool on the day’s run. Others 
were in the observation saloon, lying recumbent 
in comfortable lounging chairs. 

Upon the after end of the promenade deck, 
29 


30 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


seated in long deck chairs were Commander 
Fitzgerald and Mary Ingleton. They had gone 
there immediately after breakfast, which was 
served two hours after the airship had left San 
Francisco. Mrs. Ingleton was still in her cabin 
below. For some time the naval officer and his 
companion sat watching for a glimpse of the 
placid ocean through the occasional rifts which 
split the rolling clouds below the airship. The 
clouds themselves presented a remarkable sight 
as the brilliant sun played upon their rounded 
billows and gave them the appearance of gigantic 
puffs of snow-white cotton. Beneath these fleecy 
billows a tropical rain-storm was in progress, 
but in the sea of air through which the Wilbur 
Wright was speeding all was calm and serene, 
with not a single speck of cloud above to mar 
the perfect contour of the sky-blue vaulted 
heavens. 

Neither Fitzgerald nor his companion had 
spoken since they sat down. Mary was in rap¬ 
tures over the scene upfolded below her. Fitz¬ 
gerald was plainly nervous. His unusually steady 
hands were shaking perceptibly, and he was 
constantly shifting uneasily in his chair. This 
became so noticeable % at last that Mary turned 
to him and asked: 

‘‘Don't you feel well, Commander?” 

“Why do you ask that?” parried Fitzgerald. 

Mary paused a moment and then replied: 

“Well from your manner you don’t appear 
well. In fact you look quite worried.” 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


31 


“I’ve just been thinking about something,” 
answered Fitzgerald, “and trying to make up 
my mind what to do.” 

“Oh! do tell me,” exclaimed Mary, “maybe 
I can help you.” 

Fitzgerald suddenly sat up in his chair with 
an eager look in his eyes. Mary’s remark had 
brought more animation to his face than he 
had exhibited at any time since they had boarded 
the airship. 

“You can help me, Miss Ingleton,” he said 
eagerly; then after a moment’s reflection, he 
continued in a more dejected tone, “but I don’t 
know whether you would be willing to.” 

“How strange you are, Commander. What 
makes you think that I wouldn’t help you if I 
could?” 

“Well I know you could help me in this case, 
but it is something of such vital importance that 
I hesitate to ask you for fear you would refuse.” 

Mary looked up at him, and in a short quick 
glance her intuition divined the cause of Fitz¬ 
gerald’s agitation and his cryptic remarks. She 
quickly lowered her eyes as a warm blush suf¬ 
fused her cheeks. Then with true womanly in¬ 
stinct she promptly attempted to change the 
embarrassing subject by exclaiming: 

“Oh! look Commander, there’s a break in the 
clouds. You can see the ocean now. Isn’t it 
wonderful ? ’ ’ 

“Yes it is,” replied Fitzgerald, “but to me 
it isn’t nearly as wonderful as you are—Mary!” 


32 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


He lingered longingly over her name, the first 
time he had used it in her presence. Again 
Mary blushed, and then in her confusion she 
said in whispering tones: 

‘ 4 Don’t, please don’t, or I will have to leave 
you.” 

“You can’t,” exclaimed Fitzgerald, as he sud¬ 
denly leaned over and grasped her hands. Then 
before she could make any move he continued in 
impassioned tones, “No! you can’t leave me 
until you have heard what is in my heart Mary. 
I love you Mary! I love you with all my soul. 
I have tried hard to tell you Mary, but I could 
never gather up sufficient courage. It is hard 
for me to tell you now. I am just a plain man. 
I am not gifted with speech, but even if I were 
there are no words in any language that could 
describe my feelings toward you, Mary. I have 
loved you since the first time I saw you, with 
a love that has grown from day to day. You 
are more than all the world to me. I want to be 
with you always. I watch for you every moment, 
Mary. I am unhappy and lonesome when you 
are not with me. Mary, won’t you be my wife?” 

The unusual fervor that gripped Fitzgerald 
and spurred him to unwonted eloquence kept him 
keyed up while he waited anxiously and impat¬ 
iently for Mary to reply. He devoured her with 
his eyes, as with downcast head, she nervously 
twisted her hands within her lap. Thus she sat 
for several minutes trying hard to find a way to 
deal with the new and unexpected situation. She 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


33 


had never dreamed that Fitzgerald was in love 
with her. The excitement of the voyage, and the 
constant retrospection upon the incident with 
Levanter had kept her in a state of oblivion to 
the persons about her. In a way she had acted 
toward them as though they were necessary 
parts of her surroundings, and she had not given 
them a moment’s thought, nor paid any attention 
to their whims or moods. Therefore the proposal 
of Fitzgerald came to her like a thunderbolt out 
of a clear sky. She was completely non-plussed 
by it and at a loss as to what to say. 

She knew she did not love him. In fact so 
far as her feelings were concerned she had in an 
abstract way looked upon him as one com¬ 
manding her filial respect. The thought as a 
possible lover had certainly never entered her 
head. As she mused, Fitzgerald’s impatience 
gained mastery over him, and Mary was sud¬ 
denly awakened from the reverie his proposal 
had plunged her into, by his exclamation: 

“Mary dear, can’t you say something.” 

“Beally I don’t know,” she blurted out, I 
don’t know what to say. It would be silly to say 
it was so unexpected, but honestly you took me 
by surprise. I have never thought of you as 
a lover, Commander, really I haven’t, so I cannot 
give you an answer unless it be, ‘No.’ ” 

“No, don’t say that,” pleaded Fitzgerald, 
“don’t say that! I am willing to wait. I do 
love you, Mary, and nothing that ever happens 
can change the feeling. I am yours only and 


34 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


always. I am willing to do anything you say 
dear, but can’t you give me some little encour¬ 
agement ?” 

Mary suddenly assumed an air of dignity that 
seemed strange in one so young. 

“Listen Commander,” she said, “haven’t you 
wondered why I am making this trip at this 
time of the year? I will tell you.” 

She then told the story of her experience with 
Levanter, leaving out no detail of her own per¬ 
turbation. 

“So you see Commander,” she continued, “I 
am not yet myself. I don’t know just what to 
say to you. I want to say ‘No,’ but I like you 
very much. As matters stand now I can’t give 
you any encouragement, it would not be right. 
Let us be friends, but please, please do not ask 
me again.” 

“Very well, Mary,” said Fitzgerald, “I will 
wait gladly under those circumstances. Maybe 
you will change your liking into love. I will 
certainly do all I can to bring that about. I 
hope so with all my heart. I will obey your 
command, for this voyage anyway, but I am 
going to ask you again dear, when I think the 
time has arrived.” 

'Wlhile this scene was being enacted unobserved 
upon the after end of the ship, another incident 
was occurring in another part of the ship. In 
the wireless cabin just abaft the navigating room, 
Herbert Alexander, the wireless operator, sat 
with his legs upon the instrument table, the. 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


35 


receivers fastened to Ms ears, and a novel in 
Ms hands. He read as he listened for stray calls 
and smoked with ease, at peace with all the 
world, dreaming between paragraphs of the 
Geisha girl in Yokohama waiting to entertain 
him at the end of the flight. 

Presently, with a bored expression on his face, 
he dropped the book and leisurely withdrew his 
legs from the table. His sensitive ears had 
responded to the call, WWR. WR. WWR, of 
his ship. The calling station signed San Fran¬ 
cisco. 

With a patience born of experience he waited 
until the operator at San Francisco finished, 
then grasping the sending key, he answered the 
call and gave the signal to go ahead. Taking 
one of the telegraph blanks he wrote down: 

“Be on your guard. Air pirate again oper¬ 
ating/ * This was followed by a brief descrip¬ 
tion of the attack on the Langley. 

The news of the threatening danger spreadJ 
like wildfire among the passengers. Their moods, 
immediately changed. Upon their countenances 
appeared the shadows of deep thought, the fur¬ 
rows of deep anxiety and fear. All grew quiet 
and expectant. 

In a corner of the salon, apart from the rest 
stood Wiing Commander Kenneth Fitzgerald,, 
with Mrs. Ingleton and Mary. Mrs. Ingleton was. 
very perturbed, but not so Mary. She was, 
obviously pleased with the situation, for she^ 


36 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


evinced a greater interest in it than she had 
shown for months. 

“ Jnst think,” she said joyously to Fitzgerald, 
“that we might get an honest to goodness 
adventure. Isn’t it thrilling? The girls in 
Washington will be terribly envious when they 
read about it. Oh! I do hope the old pirate 
shows up. I’ll be terribly disappointed if he 
doesn’t. Isn’t it terribly exciting?” 


CHAPTER SIX 


Throughout the night the Wilbur Wright had 
steadily forged ahead. The crew had willingly 
volunteered to two watches instead of three, con¬ 
sequently a more rigid lookout had been main¬ 
tained at all points of the ship. The course 
lay a little more than ten degrees south of the 
Tropic of Cancer. 

The night had been well illuminated with a 
starry heaven, such as one sees only in tropical 
regions, but to the anxious watchers it had been 
passing slowly. Now at six o’clock dawn was 
emerging with tropical swiftness, to replace the 
star punched blackness of the sky. The airship 
was rapidly approaching the southern end of the 
Hawaiian archipelago. 

An hour afterward Captain Johnstone came 
into the navigating cabin. A few minutes later 
the towering crater of Mauna Loa, the volcanic 
mass of the Island of Hawaii, appeared on the 
northwestern horizon like a dim cloud specking 
the clear sky about them. It was fully three 
hundred miles away. Howard Redmond, the 
second officer, who was on watch at the time, 
37 


38 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


pointed it out to the commander in the usual 
terse manner of the navigator. 

Captain Johnstone looked at it in an abstract 
manner, while in his mind he went over the 
events of the previous day. There to the north¬ 
west, a few hours flying distance, lay Honolulu. 
Not a single aircraft was in sight, although un¬ 
doubtedly government ships were patrolling in 
the vicinity of the Hawaiian capital. He had 
already made his decision to continue flying on 
the more southerly course direct to Manila 
without stopping at Honolulu, but now the actual 
sight of Hawaii without any sign of the pirate 
had put the situation in an entirely new light. 

There seemed to be no question that he could 
make Honolulu safely, particularly with govern¬ 
ment craft undoubtedly but a short distance 
away. Then too, if necessary, he could leave for 
Manila at a different time from that given in 
the schedule, and make arrangements to keep 
his departure secret. 

After considering these points for some time 
Captain Johnstone suddenly made up his mind 
to depart from his original plan and go to 
Honolulu. Accordingly he gave orders to bring 
the airship about, and place her on the new 
course. After seeing these commands obeyed, 
he went into his cabin and rang for his break¬ 
fast. 

Half an hour later the lookout man at the 
observation post on top of the envelope shouted 
down through the loud speaking telephone: 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 39 

“There’s a ship three points off the port bow, 
Sir, very high.” 

Redmond rushed over to the port window in 
the navigating cabin and searched the sky. Fi¬ 
nally he made out a tiny speck at an almost 
unbelievable altitude. For a few seconds he 
watched it, and then decided that its general 
appearance and position were sufficiently sus¬ 
picious to warrant action. He sent a boy to 
call Captain Johnstone from his room. The 
latter who had just finished his breakfast, hur¬ 
ried to the navigating room, where Redmond 
told him of the strange craft that had just been 
sighted. 

Captain Johnstone picked up his glasses and 
pointed them to the distant object in the skies. 
He watched it as it swept along in apparent 
circuitious course at tremendous speed. At this 
time the Wilbur Wright was flying at an altitude 
of 15,000 feet. He next picked up a pair of 
altitude finders and trained them upon the 
stranger. After an observation lasting several 
seconds, he turned round to Redmund and said: 

“My God; it’s fully 45,000 feet above the sea! 
It must be a very unusual craft to keep that 
altitude. It may be the pirate. Anyway I’m 
not going to take any chances with it. We’re 
pretty close to Honolulu now, and even if it 
is the pirate we ought to make the airport 
safely. Please send for Mr. Alexander.” 

The captain then picked up his field glasses 
again and continued to watch the stranger 


40 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


through them. Shortly afterwards the wireless 
operator appeared in response to the captain’s 
call. At this very moment the captain observed 
the stranger in the skies turn around and then 
begin a wide spiral dive. All hesitation disap¬ 
peared from his mind. Throwing down the 
glasses, he picked up a piece of paper and began 
to write: 

“ Captain Smith, Naval Commander Honolulu. 

“Wilbur Weight in Latitude 15.20 N. Long¬ 
itude 152.35 E. Strange craft approximate alti¬ 
tude 45,000 feet now spiralling toward us. Be¬ 
lieve it to be pirate airplane. Please rush as¬ 
sistance. Johnstone.” 

Turning to the waiting wireless operator, he 
thrust the message in his hand and said: 

“Please get that off immediately, Mr. Alex¬ 
ander.” 

Then he rang for the chief steward and at 
the same time ordered the bugler to sound the 
alarm. Even before the steward started for 
the navigating cabin, the thoroughly alarmed 
passengers began to troop into the dining room. 
As soon as the former had reported to Captain 
Johnstone he was told to have the stewards 
make a search of the passengers’ quarters to see 
that all the passengers were in the dining room. 

“When they are all in the dining salon,” con¬ 
tinued the Captain, “tell them that we have 
sighted a suspicious craft, and that I thought it 
best they should remain in the salon until fur¬ 
ther orders. Tell them we are only 400 miles 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


41 


from Honolulu, and that I have wirelessed for 
assistance, and that I do not think there is any 
danger. ’ * 

The steward left to go about his task. In the 
wireless room Alexander had just got into com¬ 
munication with Honolulu and had started to 
send the captain’s message. 

By this time the passengers were in the dining 
salon. They were talking to each other in 
excited tones in groups at the various tables, 
when the chief steward arrived and delivered 
the captain’s message. 

At the captain’s table in the center of the 
salon sat Commander Fitzgerald with Mrs. 
Ingleton and her daughter. They had been in 
the dining room when the warning bugle was 
sounded. Mrs. Ingleton, being somewhat ner¬ 
vous, was almost terror stricken, and Fitzgerald 
was doing his best to allay her fears. Mary 
however, was alive with intense excitement. She 
could hardly restrain herself from clapping her 
hands over the prospect of the adventure. “Oh! 
isn’t it thrilling!” she exclaimed. 

Just then one of the passengers at a window 
on the port side shouted across the room: 

“He’s getting very close to us. He’s coming 
very fast. Just look at him!” 

The passengers who had remained seated 
started excitedly for the windows. Before they 
could reach them there was the sound of an 
explosion followed by a sizzling, ripping sound, 
and the ship shook from stem to stern. 


CHAPTER SEVEN 


An air of anxiety hung over the United States 
Naval Station at Pearl Harbor on the Island of 
Oahu, six miles west of Honolulu. In the office 
of the commandant sat Captain James H. Smith, 
an expression of deep concern spread over his 
weather beaten face. Seated with him and shar¬ 
ing his gloomy thoughts was Air Commander 
Heathcote, commander of the aerial forces using 
the Hawaiian archipelago as their basis. 

Both had just been discussing the airship 
Wilbur Wright which was now several hours 
overdue. Not a single word had been received 
from her. The fate of the Langley, only a few 
hours previously, was freshly engraven on their 
memories. In fact the passengers were still 
aboard the tramp steamer Yang-Tsze, which was 
ploughing its lubberly way toward Manila. Now 
there loomed up the possibility that the Wilbur 
Wright had shared the same fate. 

Both officers had dispatched every craft that 
was available under their command to search 
the seas and the air, in accordance with orders 
from Washington. All were in immediate wire¬ 
less intercommunication with each other, but 
42 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


43 


none had sighted or heard from the overdue 
airship. 

Thus they sat and discussed the possibilities 
of the situation while waiting impotently for 
information. Presently a messenger came in 
from the naval radio station with a penciled note 
from the operator. It stated that a distress sig¬ 
nal had been received from the Wilbur Wright, 
but that the operator had been unable to receive 
it completely owing to interference from another 
station, that was working on the same wave 
length as the Wilbur Wright. 

Captain Smith showed the note to Heathcote, 
and the two men immediately walked over to 
the wireless station. There the operator was 
frantically endeavoring to get into touch with 
the Wilbur Wright. Upon the entrance of the 
two commanders, the operator ceased his efforts 
long enough to advise them of what had oc¬ 
curred 

“I heard an S.O.S. call, Sir,” he said, “and 
it was signed by the Wilbur Wright. The inter¬ 
ference made it impossible to get the message, 
but I got parts of it. I have been trying to get 
the Wilbur Weight again, but now I don’t re¬ 
ceive any answer at all, and the other station 
has also stopped sending. I sent out a general 
call too, in the hope that the nearby craft might 
answer in case the Wilbur Wright didn’t, but 
there’s no reply. Here’s what I managed to 
get through the interference.” 

The operator handed Captain Smith a slip 


44 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


of paper on which was written parts of a mes¬ 
sage, just as they had been received by the 
operator, as follows: 

“Captain Smith ** *** ** Honol * Wilbu 
* Wright *** itude 15.2 ** 52.35 ** craft believe 
***** pirate ***” 

“That’s all I could get, Sir,” added the oper¬ 
ator “and it’s just as it came in.” 

Captain Smith and Commander Heathcote both 
pored over the fragmentary message intently 
for several seconds. Then the former said: 

“It looks as though he were being attacked 
by the pirate and was trying to tell us. Those 
figures are undoubtedly his position.” 

“Yes,” said Heathcote, that’s probably the 
case. The first of those figures is most likely to 
be his latitude, and the other his longitude. 
There must be a figure missing though. It’s 
probably 15.2 N. and 152.35 E. It wouldn’t be 
a bad idea to send out some patrol craft in that 
general direction. I’ll order my outfit to proceed 
there immediately. It may be that the station 
interfereing was the pirate himself.” 

Turning to the operator Commodore Heathcote 
asked whether any of the aircraft, or the naval 
vessels had received the call from the airship. 

“I imagine they did, Sir,” replied the former, 
“but as soon as the call came in I told everybody 
to keep off while I took the message. They 
would probably listen in too, and take the mes¬ 
sage down, but I don’t think they got anything 
more than I did. I didn’t bother to ask them, 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


45 


because I have been busy trying to raise the 
Wilbur Wright ever since. If you want me to 
I’ll ask them now.” 

“You might as well,” said the Commodore, 
“and then when you get the flagships I’ll give 
you a message to send to the commanders.” 

The operator proceeded to send out a general 
oall, and shortly afterwards received replies from 
the flagships of the naval unit and the aircraft 
squadron. He asked both of them whether they 
had received the message from the Wilbur 
Wright, and after a brief wireless communication 
learned they had received no more than he. 

While the operator was calling the patrol 
craft, the two commanders had picked up a chart 
and pin-pointed the position given in the mes¬ 
sage. 

“It’s about four hundred miles from here,” 
said Heathcote. We could probably get out 
there as soon as any of the ships on patrol duty. 
The big P. Q. flying boat is the fastest thing 
around here. It’s practically ready to take oft* 
any minute. I’m going out in her, do you want 
to come along?” 

“You bet,” replied Captain Smith, glad to 
be active, and greatly relieved that some of the 
uncertainty had passed. 

Heathcote turned over a message he had hur¬ 
riedly written to the wireless operator and or¬ 
dered him to send it immediately to the com¬ 
mander of the patrol aircraft. It advised the 
commander to proceed to the position given with 


46 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


all possible speed, and make a careful search 
within a radius of one hundred miles, and also 
to listen carefully for any wireless messages 
from the Wilbur Wright. 

The two officers then went out to the seaplane 
landing beach, and gave orders to the handling 
crew to get the P-Q flying boat ready. This 
was quickly obeyed, and ten minutes later the 
big aircraft had risen gracefully from the 
smooth waters of the harbor and was circling 
rapidly to an altitude of five thousand feet. As 
soon as this height was attained, the ship was 
straightened out and placed on a direct course 
to the position given in the message from the 
Wilbur Wright. Swiftly it passed over the 
mountainous archipelago, skirting the lofty peaks 
of the volcanoes. 

Two hours later the look-out man in the for¬ 
ward gun nest shouted back through the inter¬ 
communicating telephone: There are some small 
objects in the water, Sir. I can’t make out what 
they are.” 

Commodore Ileatheote took his glasses and 
looked down, and then ordered his pilot to make 
a landing near them. He also swept the skies 
in search of other aircraft. In the distance the 
war planes that had been on patrol duty were 
coming up at rapid speed. Heathcote ordered 
the wireless operator of the P-Q to tell them he 
was going to land and request them to circle 
around the vicinity until further orders. 

The pilot of the P-Q, threw over the wheel 
control and pushed the rudder bar with his feet. 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


47 


The big flying boat nosed over and down, then 
went into a swift spiral dive. In rapid cork¬ 
screw movements it swept down through the air 
five thousand feet in sixty seconds, and then 
straightened out fifty feet above the surface of 
the sea. Two seconds later it was skimming 
over the smooth surface less than a hundred feet 
from the nearest boat. 

All doubt as to the nature of the objects in 
the water had now vanished. There were six 
lifeboats, and they were from the airship Wilbur 
Wright. As the flying boat taxied over towards 
them the passengers let loose a rousing cheer 
and waved a welcome to their rescuers. Through 
his glasses Commodore Heathcote made out the 
uniformed figure of Captain Johnstone in the 
leading lifeboat. He told his pilot to taxi over 
toward it. A few moments later the P-Q drew 
up alongside. 

“What happened, Captain,?” shouted Commo¬ 
dore Heathcote. 

“We were shot down by an airplane,’’ replied 
the airship commander, “we have a lady pas¬ 
senger in serious condition and in need of im¬ 
mediate hospital attention. It is Mrs. Ingleton, 
Secretary of the Navy’s wife. Have you got 
any machine that would take her to Honolulu 
quickly? She is in a critical condition. As 
soon as you take her off I’ll come over and tell 
you what happened.” 


CHAPTER EIGHT 


One of the patrol airplanes, in response to an 
order from Commodore Heathcote, came down 
and landed near the lifeboats, and transferred 
Mrs. Ingleton from the captain’s boat. It then 
took off and started for Honolulu at high speed. 

As soon as this operation had been completed, 
Captain Johnstone was taken off his lifeboat, 
aboard the P-Q, flying boat, where he was re¬ 
ceived in the after gun-pit by the two govern¬ 
ment commanders. “I have wirelessed for a 
couple of destroyers to come along here and 
pick up the passengers and crew, Captain,” said 
Captain Smith. “It will take them a few hours 
to get here, and we will stand by you till they 
arrive. Tell us how it happened.” 

Captain Johnstone narrated the story of the 
second act of aerial piracy that was destined 
within a few hours to shock the world into fren¬ 
zied action. 

“We had been fully warned about the Lang¬ 
ley,” he began, “so I put the ship a hundred 
miles off her course. At first I decided to fly 
to Manila without a stop, but when we fetched 
up with Hawaii without any sign of the pirate 
48 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


49 


I changed my mind and decided to make Hono¬ 
lulu. 

“Pd scarcely changed my course when the 
lookout man observed a strange craft at tremen¬ 
dous altitude. After an observation I figured it 
must have been at least 45,000 feet up, and it 
was moving rapidly in circles. Suddenly it com¬ 
menced to spiral down toward us, and I decided 
it was no time to take chances, and I ordered 
my wireless operator to send out an S.O.S. 

“The stranger came down on us with terrific 
speed. He didn’t make a sound, with the ex¬ 
ception of the hum of his propeller. He soon 
reached our level and circled around us. Then 
he fired a shot straight at us. It went clean 
through the middle of the envelope. I gave 
orders to nose down and land, but it was useless. 
The pirate was doing some great shooting, and 
he soon had us disabled. 

“We settled quickly and he came down after 
us. As soon as we had landed I had the boats 
out, and started putting the women in them. 
When we had done this he came up alongside. 
A man leaned out of the window in the body 
and shouted through a megaphone. 

“ ‘You’ve got a Miss Mary Ingleton of Wash¬ 
ington on board. Where is she?” 

“As soon as he had asked this question an¬ 
other man stood up in a small cockpit in !he 
bows and fingered the trigger of a machine gun 
fixed there. He looked as though he meant 
business. I hesitated a few moments and tried 
to evade his question, but he shouted back: 


50 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


“ ‘I know she’s on hoard. Tell her to come 
right here, I want to speak to her. I’m not 
going to stand any nonsense. If she’s not here 
in five minutes, you will he placing all your pas¬ 
sengers in danger. It’s up to you.’ 

“Miss Ingleton was in my boat with her moth¬ 
er and Commodore Fitzgerald, and she heard 
what the stranger had said. Mrs. Ingleton im¬ 
mediately became hysterical and pleaded with 
me not to let her daughter go. Fitzgerald was 
also against it, as he was quite sure the pirate 
would not have the heart to endanger defense¬ 
less people. ‘All we’ve got to do is to stand firm 
against him, and he’ll weaken,’ he told me. 

“I was in a terrible dilemma. Naturally I 
didn’t want to let Miss Ingleton go over to the 
pirate, and I didn’t want to jeopardize the rest 
of the passengers. "We could only see the two 
men on the strange airplane. They wore heavy 
flying clothes and had chamois masks over their 
faces. I imagine that was for the high altitudes 
they were flying, as well as for the purpose of 
disguise. While I was trying to figure a way 
out, Miss Ingleton got up and said: 

“ ‘Let’s row over there, Captain. It won’t 
do any harm to talk to him and find out what he 
wants. ’ 

“I gave the order and my crew pulled away 
until we came within a few feet of the airplane. 
As we drew up the fellow in the cabin leaned out 
and asked: 

“ ‘Have you got Miss Ingleton on board that 
boat. Where is she?’ 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 51 

“Before I could answer Miss Ingleton stood 
up and said: 

“ ‘Here I am, what do you want?’ 

“ ‘We want you to come on board here/ he 
replied, ‘If you do so we will let the rest of 
the passengers alone. If you don’t come will¬ 
ingly we’ll be compelled to use force.’ 

“To this Miss Ingleton answered: I’ve got 
my mother with me, can she come too?’ 

“No, we only want you,’ the fellow replied. 

“Mrs. Ingleton began to cry hyherically. Don’t 
go Mary, don’t go, I’m afraid.’ Her daughter 
spoke to her soothingly a few minutes and tried 
to console her. Miss Ingleton was not in the 
least afraid and was acting very calmly. I over¬ 
heard her say to her mother: ‘I can take care of 
myself, mother dear, don’t worry, you don’t 
want to make all these other poor people suffer, 
do you. We can’t stop this man from doing 
what he wants. If I don’t go willingly he can 
get me by force. I don’t know what he wants, 
but he will probably let me come right back 
again. ’ 

“After a little more pleading Miss Ingleton 
stood up again and shouted over to the man in 
the airplane: ‘Alright, I’ll come over now.’ 

“I went to her, and said: ‘It’s funny that he 
should know that you were on board. Do you 
recognize his voice.’ She said that as far as 
she knew it was the first time she had heard it. 
It was quite strange to her and she did not 
recognize it at all. I was trying to get a clue 
to the man’s identity by asking her that ques- 


52 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


tion, but she couldn’t help me. 

“When we came up alongside, the fellow stood 
in the doorway of the cabin and assisted Miss 
Ingleton on board. While he was doing this 
the other man in the gun cockpit stood over us 
with a reolver in his hand. As soon as Miss 
Ingleton was on board the airplane the fellow 
in the doorway ordered us to shove off and lay 
clear. I tried to look into the small doorway 
while we were alongside, but he stood so full 
in the small aperture that it was impossible to 
see anything. 

“As soon as we fell away the cabin door was 
closed, and the airplane started over to where 
the Wilbur Wright was lying awash in the water. 
He evidently had a marine screw for use on 
the water, as his propellers were not working. 
I saw some of the crew go aboard the disabled 
airship. There seemed to be five of them. 
Whether any remained I don’t know. They were 
there for upwards of twenty minutes, and during 
that time one of them was engaged in passing 
most of the valuable cargo from the airship to 
the airplane. Then they all got aboard the air¬ 
plane again and taxied away about a hundred 
yards. From that position they opened fire on 
the Wilbur Wright and continued firing until she 
sank. 

“Suddenly the propellers of the airplane be¬ 
gan to whirl around, and in a few seconds she 
was in the air. She climbed with incredible 
speed and disappeared in no time. We could 
not hear any motor sound at all, and there was 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


53 


apparently no room for the motors where the 
propellers were housed. The propellers must 
have been connected to the motors by means of 
gears. 

“As soon as the airplane disappeared Mrs. 
Ingleton collapsed completely. She had been 
buoyed up by the hope that her daughter would 
come back, but now that the pirate had left 
without hesitation she was heartbroken. We 
tried our best to console and revive her, but it 
was of no avail. 

“After the pirate had disapjjeared I made 
the rounds of the boats to find whether all my 
passengers and crew were safe. In the hurry 
we had not had time to make a roll call. The 
round showed all the passengers were safely on 
board with the exception of Miss Ingleton. All 
the crew were also on board, except the second 
officer Howard Redmond, who is missing. I 
made inquiries, but no one seems to have seen 
him anywhere on the ship. I am afraid he is 
lost. I can’t account for his disappearance. He 
must gave got tangled up somewhere in the ship 
and gone down with her.” 


CHAPTER NINE 


The sinking of the airship Wilbnr Wright by 
the unknown aerial pirate, coming as it did 
twenty four hours after the airship Langley had 
been shot down, shocked the entire world, and 
caused a wave of anxiety to surge through every 
civilized country. “Wliere will he strike next?” 
was the thought on every mind. 

Its immediate effect was the wholesale cancel¬ 
lation of all commercial air transport schedules 
along the Pacific railways, completely isolating 
Australia and the Orient from rapid communi¬ 
cation with the rest of the world. 

This was followed by a universal demand that 
the pirate be tracked down and brought to jus¬ 
tice. Throughout the North American continent 
there was an insistent demand by every news¬ 
paper for immediate action in running down the 
menace. 

The question was immediately brought up be¬ 
fore the executive committee of the League of 
Nations, but at the request of the American 
member it was decided to allow the United 
States Government to patrol the airways and 
apprehend the pirate, particularly as only Amer¬ 
ican ships had been attacked thus far. 

54 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


55 


The news of the Wilbur Wright attack brought 
the utmost consternation to official Washington. 
To the Secretary of the Navy it brought the 
added fear for his daughter’s safety and anx¬ 
iety over the seriousness of his wife’s condition. 
With his daughter actually in the power of the 
unknown pirate, he was fearful lest harm should 
come to her when the forces of the government 
bore down upon the outlaw. 

This fear weighed so heavily upon him that he 
gave expression to it at the cabinet meeting 
which was called at once by the President to 
plan the campaign against the pirate. As soon 
as the meeting was called to order Secretary 
Ingleton arose and addressing the President, 
gave voice to his fears and concluded by saying: 
“Therefore Mr. President I desire to be excused 
from taking any part in formulating the plans 
that will be devised to run down this man, be¬ 
cause I feel my judgement might be influenced 
by fears for my daughter’s safety. I will, how¬ 
ever, pledge myself to carry out as far as pos¬ 
sible, wherever my department is concerned, any 
plans that my colleagues may decide upon.” 

The President and the other members of the 
cabinet expressed their sympathy with the Sec¬ 
retary of the Navy and assured him that in the 
plans laid down every possible precaution would 
be taken to insure the safety of his daughter. 

Then George Cowl, Secretary of Air, arose 
and read an official cipher cablegram he had re¬ 
ceived from Commodore Heathcote describing 
the attack on the Wilbur Wright in detail. 


56 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


“You will see,” he said, after reading the 
cablegram, “that it’s details coincide exactly 
with those of the attack on the Langley. The 
methods adopted in both cases are practically 
identical, except of course for the abduction of 
Miss Ingleton. In fact to me there seems to 
be no possibility of any doubt as to the pirate 
being the same in both cases. The chances of 
there being two pirates operating in that vicinity 
are extremely remote. 

“In laying our plans to hunt him down there 
is one important point to bear in mind. He 
cannot operate without a base. He must have 
a base to replenish his fuel, food and execute 
whatever repairs are necessary to his machine 
after each flight. 

“It seems to me that our first task is to locate 
this base. It must be on one of the Islands in 
the mid-Pacific groups. Another problem which 
we must solve is this: What is his method of 
keeping his base supplied with the necessary 
stores? 

“These are two very important points, and I 
think it would be wise to investigate whether 
any coast vessels have been carrying cargoes 
necessary to airplane maintenance, and whether 
they have been destined to unusual places. It 
would also be a good plan to make inquiries at 
all aircraft factories to ascertain whether they 
had by any chance constructed the machine used 
by the pirate. Even from the meagre descrip¬ 
tion we have of the machine one gathers that it’s 
design is quite out of the ordinary, and should 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 57 

be easy to trace if it was constructed by any 
ordinary manufacturer. 

“The next thing in my opinion would be to 
issue explicit instructions to all the naval radio 
operators in the Pacific. The incident yesterday 
when the pirate shot down the Wilbur Wright 
and then inquired for Miss Ingleton shows that 
he must be equipped with wireless, because there 
is no other way in which he could have known 
she was on board. 

“The fact that he has wireless on board and 
uses it is borne out by what occurred when the 
Wilbur Wright sent out an S.O.S. call. The 
operator at Pearl Harbor was unable to get 
the complete message because of interference, 
which, judging from all the facts in the case, 
could have come from no one else except the 
pirate. 

“Under these circumstances I would suggest 
that a description of his signals be obtained 
from the Pearl Harbor station operator and 
sent out by rush cable to all the other operators 
with instructions to listen for them at all times. 

“Then I would also suggest that the operators 
at Pearl Harbor, Guam and Manila be instructed 
to adjust their Direction Finder apparatus on 
the pirate immediately they hear him, and get a 
bearing on him. In this way we might possibly 
be able to trace him to the base. We could also 
arrange a new code for the operators to use in 
transmitting the results of their Direction Find¬ 
ing bearings. This code should also be rushed 
to them by cable, with the request that they 


58 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


repeat it back to as, so that there will be no 
chance of any error. 

“So mach for that phase. We mast now lay 
plans for tracking him down with patrols. In 
my opinion we mast proceed with this on well 
organized lines, and shoald ase both naval and 
aircraft anits. The latter shoald be fast scoats 
with long craising range. Dirigibles are too 
slow for this work, I think, and too valnerable 
against this man. We mast arrange a complete 
co-ordination between the wireless and the patrol 
anits, and the latter shoald be advised of all 
codes. 

“In this connection I have jast received an in¬ 
teresting cable from Commander Fitzgerald who 
was a passenger on the Wilbar Wright. Here 
it is. He says: 

“ ‘Respectfally reqaest that I be given op- 
portanity of leading any expedition against air¬ 
plane which shot down airships. As Miss Ingle- 
ton was ander my escort I feel it a personal 
daty to see no harm comes to her and that she 
be safely restored to her parents. I am anxioas 
to go after the pirate, and strongly arge my re¬ 
qaest be granted.’ 

“Now Fitzgerald had ample opportanity of 
getting a comprehensive idea of the attacking 
airplane, and he observed it both on the water 
and in the air. Therefore he is the logical man 
for the job. Moreover, he andoabtedly feels he 
has been remiss in the pledge to look after Mrs. 
Ingleton and her daaghter and seeks tQ atone, 
althoagh personally I do not think there is any- 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


59 


thing else he could have done under the circum¬ 
stances. I propose putting him in command of 
the pursuit forces and having Commodore 
Heathcote at Honolulu in charge of base oper¬ 
ations. I think that Honolulu would be the best 
place to base the expedition because of its cen¬ 
tral location to the apparent field of the pirate’s 
operations. 

“I think that we should have at least twelve 
squadrons of pursuit airplanes for the task, and 
while they should be based on Honolulu for 
repairs and refitting, I am in favor of having 
each squadron located at some particular island 
so that it can be concentrated rapidly at any par¬ 
ticular spot the pirate is reported in. 

“The task of running down the pirate should 
be carried out by a double arrangement, first 
a daily patrol and second a special concentrated 
patrol. In the first case I would suggest that 
the squadrons be located on islands approxi¬ 
mately five hundred miles apart and that each 
squadron be assigned to patrol a definite terri¬ 
tory of approximately five hundred miles square. 
This could be done each day with four airplanes, 
leaving each squadron with fourteen machines 
in reserve for emergency. 

“The patroling airplanes would keep in con¬ 
stant wireless communication with their squad¬ 
ron headquarters, and all the squadron head¬ 
quarters should be linked together by wireless 
or cable. The airplanes held in reserve by each 
squadron will be kept in readiness at all times, 
and in the event of a patrol airplane sighting the 


60 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


pirate, the reserve machines will concentrate on 
the spot as soon as possible, after receiving the 
wireless report. It would also be well to deter¬ 
mine the types of naval vessels to use, and the 
manner in which they can co-operate with the 
aircraft. 

4 ‘Those are my views gentlemen, but I am 
willing and anxious to co-operate in any other 
plan that you may adopt.” 

As Secretary Cowl finished, and even before 
he could sit down, a murmur of approval swept 
through the room, and one or two of the cabinet 
members actually clapped their hands in ap¬ 
plauding the general plan outlined by the head 
of the Air Department. For a few seconds there 
was a spirited discussion as the members went 
over the points of Cowl’s suggestions. Then 
John F. Seeley, the Secretary of War, arose 
and said: 

“The Secretary of Air has stated the case 
concisely and admirably. I agree absolutely with 
all his main points and heartily concur in the 
methods he had so masterly proposed to meet 
the menacing situation. There is, however, one 
phase of the situation that he only touched upon 
—the use of naval craft in the pursuit. 

“Under normal circumstances we would await 
the pronouncement of our colleague of the Navy 
Department upon that subject, but in view of his 
statement at the outset of this meeting I am 
presuming to venture a suggestion in his place. 

“Before I do so, however, I want to state 
that there may be a very grave question as to 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


61 


the efficacy of a surface patrol in this situation, 
and I would very urgently suggest that before 
anything definite is done that we consult with 
the experts of the Navy Department as to the 
utility and feasibility of using naval vessels. 

“Should they decide that it would be feasible 
to use them, it seems to me that since we are 
dealing solely with an aviation problem there 
are only two classes of naval craft that can be 
at all considered in this question—namely, de¬ 
stroyers and fast, light scout cruisers. Even 
these are inadequate so far as speed is con¬ 
cerned, but we might find them useful in long 
range, continuous patrol work. 

“In using naval craft we must determine the 
amount of territory that we are going to patrol. 
Having definitely done this, we can then decide 
the exact number of vessels we shall require un¬ 
der the plan that I am going to propose to you. 

“From the vantage point of a destroyer’s 
decks or lookouts the skies can be swept for a 
radius of approximately thirty miles. There¬ 
fore may plan is this:—place flotillas of de¬ 
stroyers or squadrons of scout cruisers on the 
ocean, each vessel to take a station sixty miles 
from its neighbor in any direction. These ves¬ 
sels are to do patrol duty at a predetermined 
speed along definite courses arranged so that 
the patrol is constantly maintained over the 
same stretches of water. At no time during 
the patrol must the sending apparatus of the 
wireless be used by any vessel, but the operator 
on each ship must maintain a constant watch at 


62 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


his receiver. 

“All these vessels should be equipped with 
a low powered wireless sending apparatus. I 
believe such sets are available, and the radio 
engineer should be instructed to adjust them so 
that they have a range no greater than sixty- 
five miles. 

“If at any time it is necessary for the patrol 
craft to intercommunicate they would use these 
sets for the purpose. In cases of emergency they 
could use their regular sending apparatus. 

“In the event of the pirate being observed the 
word will be passed along the lines by the wire¬ 
less sets. In this connection I would suggest a 
simple code to express that fact, which could be 
followed by the figures of the position. For in¬ 
stance the letter 0 could be used to express the 
meaning ‘pirate observed’. Suppose he were 
seen in Longitude 178 E. and Latitude 12 N.; the 
signal sent along the lines would be ‘0 178 12’. 

“Immediately upon receipt of such a signal 
the vessels of the flotilla would proceed to the 
general vicinity of that position at full speed 
and render such assistance with their anti-air¬ 
craft guns as would be possible under the cir¬ 
cumstances. 

“That is the general plan I have to suggest, 
gentlemen. If it is feasible the next question to 
be determined will be the extent of the territory 
we must cover by this means.” 

A large map of the Pacific Ocean was spread 
across the table before the members of the cabi¬ 
net, and they had all studied it during the dis- 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


63 


cussion. At this stage the President said: 

“Well, gentlemen, if it is found feasible by 
the naval experts to use naval vessels in this 
work, don’t you think that it would he advisable, 
in order to save valuable time, to authorize the 
Secretary of the Navy to go ahead along the 
lines of the plan that Mr. Seely has outlined, or 
along similar lines that may be suggested by the 
naval staff. I also think that Mr. Cowl should 
be authorized to proceed under the admirable 
plan that he has put forward for the forces con¬ 
trolled by his department. 

“Before we go any further, however, I would 
like to state, in connection with Mr. Seeley’s 
suggestion, that I have been studying the map 
of the Pacific ocean. Of course I am not an ex¬ 
pert, but at a glance, it seemed to me that if na¬ 
val vessels were used at all, it would be a very 
good scheme to use them in a belt between the 
Hawaiian archipelago and the Marshall Island 
group to the eastward. How much territory 
would that involve Mr. Ingleton?” 

“Why, roughly speaking, Mr. President,” re¬ 
plied the secretary of the navy after a quick 
calculation, “it would mean a belt of about two 
thousand miles in length, and I presume three 
hundred miles in width. This would not be im¬ 
possible. In 1919, within our own memory, the 
Navy Department spread out a network of de¬ 
stroyers across the Atlantic Ocean over a dis¬ 
tance as long, although not so wide, in connec¬ 
tion with the first flight across that ocean with 
the historic old NC seaplanes that are now in 


64 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


the Smithsonian Institute. So far as the physi¬ 
cal aspects are concerned, such a patrol would 
not be impossible/’ 

“That’s what I thought,” said the president, 
“There is another thing that suggests itself to 
me, and it is this: Why not take advantage of 
the location of the mid-Pacific islands as lookout 
positions, place observers on each of them, and 
make them part of the general observation sys¬ 
tem, with instructions to the observers to report 
immediately to Honolulu if they should happen 
to sight the pirate. 

“Well, gentlemen, I propose that the different 
departments be empowered to put the sugges¬ 
tions made here to practical use. The details of 
each scheme can be worked out by the experts 
and then be put into operation.” 

Before any reply could be made to this sug¬ 
gestion, Secretary Ingleton broke in and said: 

“Mr. President, the fears that beset me con¬ 
stantly arise in my mind, and I cannot overcome 
them. I feel that in the circumstances I am in 
no condition to actively prosecute the affairs of 
my department, particularly as the most press¬ 
ing problem of the department is in connection 
with the cause of my own troubles. Therefore I 
desire to tender my resignation right now, and 
transfer my department to abler hands. I will 
send you, Mr. President, the formal notice of my 
resignation as soon as this meeting is concluded, 
and I implore you to accept it in the interests of 
the country. I am going to the Orient to cheer 
my wife and aid in the search of my daughter.” 


CHAPTER TEN 


For two months after the attack on the Wil¬ 
bur Wright the airways of the Pacific Ocean re¬ 
mained free from the activities of the unknown 
and mysterious flying pirate. The aerial trans¬ 
port companies slowly and cautiously resumed 
their schedules as the government patrol system 
steadily increased in efficiency and scope. 

Although the pirate had apparently suspended 
his operations, the government had gone ahead 
with the organized plan developed at Washing¬ 
ton for dealing with the menace caused by his 
advent. By the end of two months squadron 
after squadron of fighting airplanes had been 
dispatched to the Pacific, and had taken up the 
duty of patrolling the airways. 

Under the plan of stationing a quadron at 
every available island as nearly as possible 
within five hundred miles of each other, squad¬ 
rons had already been distributed and estab¬ 
lished as follows: 

Squadron No. 1, at Johnston Island, Hawaiian 
Archipelago. 

Squadron No. 2, at Wake Island. 

Squadron No. 3, at Jaluit Island, Marshall 
group. 


65 


66 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


Squadron No. 4, at Ponape Island, Eastern 
Carolines. 

Squadron No. 5, at Trnk Island, Middle Caro¬ 
lines. 

Squadron No. 6, at Yap Island, Pelew group. 

Squadron No. 7 at Guam. 

Squadron No. 8 at Asuncion, Marianas. 

In addition to these, six reserve squadrons 
had their base at Honolulu and were operating 
temporarily from the islands of Midway, Lay- 
san, Necker, Kauai, Oahu and Hawaii. All of 
the first eight squadrons were now definitely 
engaged in patrolling the airways east of Hono¬ 
lulu. To the westward the reserve squadrons 
and other squadrons on the Pacific coast of the 
United States were doing similar work. Wing 
Commander Fitzgerald in charge of pursuit ope¬ 
rations had taken up headquarters with squadron 
No. 2 on Wake Island as the most centrally lo¬ 
cated. 

The squadrons on the islands had each twelve 
airplanes in reserve at all times. Their head¬ 
quarters had been linked together with special 
cable arrangements wherever facilities permit¬ 
ted. Where cables did not exist special wire¬ 
less stations had been installed, and the code 
system had been definitely agreed upon. 

The big naval wireless stations at Honolulu, 
Guam and Manila had been designated to con¬ 
trol all operations within their respective zones, 
and the Honolulu station was in supreme charge 
of the entire situation so far as wireless was 
concerned. Each of the three big stations was 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


67j 


equipped with the latest type of Direction Fin¬ 
der apparatus. 

Thus slowly, methodically and persistently the 
government laid the trap which it hoped would 
ensnare the man who had caused the havoc that 
threatened to entirely disrupt all aerial transpor¬ 
tation. As yet, however, the quarry had refused 
to snap at the bait and in fact had apparently 
vanished completely so far as information re¬ 
vealed. The routine of the organized plan, how¬ 
ever, was continued daily, with an occasional 
alarm to test the efficiency of the system. 

Commodore Heathcote at Honolulu, who was 
in control of all base operations, had taken a 
keen interest in all the plans for the pursuit of 
the pirate and had personally tested all the ar¬ 
rangements. More particularly was he interested 
in the wireless arrangements for co-operating 
with the aerial fleets. 

As soon as he was appointed, he made it a 
point of going to the naval radio station at Ho¬ 
nolulu and familiarizing himself with the meth¬ 
ods employed by the operators in picking up the 
signals of the pirate and getting his location in 
the event the latter should use his wireless ap¬ 
paratus. He listened attentively as the chief 
operator explained to him the working of the Di¬ 
rection Finder. 

“The theory of its operation is very simple, 
Sir,” said the latter, “although some compli¬ 
cated calculations enter into the working out of a 
position due to certain variations that have to 
be determined and allowed for.” 


68 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


“You see this loop of wire around this 
frame / 9 continued the operator pointing to a 
large square wooden frame, around the edge of 
which a wire was wound several times in paral¬ 
lel loops, with the two ends of the wire attached 
to another piece of apparatus “Well it was 
found several years ago that such a ‘loop’ pro¬ 
duced peculiar results when placed in the path 
of a train of electro-magnetic waves. It was 
found that if the edge of the loop was pointed 
toward the direction from which the waves were 
coming, signals would be recorded on the ap¬ 
paratus connected with it. In other words a 
small current was induced in the coil which was 
then registered by the delicate detectors and re¬ 
cording instruments. 

“Now if the coil is turned so that its edge is 
at right angles to the path of the waves there 
is absolutely no current induced in it. In fact 
the moment the edge of the coil is turned away, 
either to the right or the left, from the true di¬ 
rection of the wireless waves, the signals imme¬ 
diately decrease in strength, and this decrease is 
more pronounced the more the coil is turned to¬ 
ward the right angle position. As a matter of 
fact the amount of current picked up by the loop 
is so small that we have to employ apparatus 
that amplifies or increases the effect produced 
by the current, consequently signals picked up 
from long distance are only recieved when the 
edge of the coil is pointing directly towards 
them. 

“As you see, we use a compass with the Di- 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


69 


rection Finder. With that we are able to get 
the bearing of the coil in degrees as soon as the 
adjustment for the strongest signals has been 
completed. That bearing of course tells us in what 
direction the station sending out the messages is 
located. Of course there have to be allowances 
made for magnetic deviation and certain other 
factors, but they are all charted and compara¬ 
tively easy to apply. ” 

“That’s very interesting/’ said Commodore 
Heathcote, “very interesting, but as I under¬ 
stand it that only gives you the direction of the 
sending station. How do you find his exact lo¬ 
cation V 9 

“Well, we do that with the aid of two known 
wireless stations and triangulation , 9 ’ replied the 
operator. “It’s done this way. Take for in¬ 
stance the station at Guam and this station. Sup¬ 
pose there is a ship at sea between us that is 
sending out signals, and we wish to determine 
its exact location First of all I get a bearing 
on the ship with my Direction Finder, and of 
course Guam is doing the same thing with its 
apparatus at the same time. Now we know the 
exact latitude and longitude of both Guam and 
this station. As soon as I get the bearing I 
take a chart and then work out the angle of the 
bearing to our meridian of longitude and con¬ 
tinue the resulting line of that angle across the 
chart. 

“Guam then tells me what bearing he has ob¬ 
tained on the ship. I repeat the operation by 
obtaining the angle of Guam’s bearing to his 


70 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


meridian, and also continne the line across the 
chart Somewhere on the chart the two lines 
will cross each other, and the point where they 
cross is the exact location of the ship that is 
sending out the wireless signals If the ship is 
moving we repeat the process in a couple of 
hours, and that gives us an exact line on the 
course the ship is following. That’s how it is 
done, Sir.” 

“By George!”, exclaimed Heathcote, “that’s 
wonderful. Now I’m sorry I didn’t pay more at¬ 
tention to wireless. Why, there are marvelous 
possibilities in that. The more I think of it the 
more it appears to be the only way in which we 
shall be able to track this fellow down. God 
help him if ever he opens his wireless mouth.” 

“If he does, Sir, we’ll get him sure,” said the 
operator with the earnestness of conviction. 


CHAPTER ELEVEN 


Day after day had passed in continuous patrol 
by the aircraft units without event. The concen¬ 
trated destroyer and cruiser patrol discussed by 
the President and his cabinet in Washington had 
not been established, as the experts of the naval 
staff had considered it would be ineffectual in 
the circumstances. By this time practically all 
the aircraft of the aerial patrol developed in de¬ 
tail at the conference in Washington had been 
placed at their respective posts over the Pacific 
Ocean, and the whole plan was functioning well. 
The airway had remained clear so far as any¬ 
thing of piratical intent was concerned, and the 
aerial, transit lines were very close to normal 
again. 

So the daily round of routine passed until one 
morning, about ten weeks after the pirate had 
made his conspicuous advent, the operator at the 
Honolulu naval wireless station was suddenly 
moved into intensive concentration by strange 
signals in the receivers about his ears. Although 
they were continuous wave signals and lacked 
the individuality of the old type spark signals, 
there was nevertheless a very familiar aspect 
about the sending itself that caused the opera- 
71 


72 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


tor to pay the closest attention to the signals. 

Switching hurriedly to the Direction Finder ap¬ 
paratus he began to work feverishly with the 
searching coil, moving it around slowly within 
the radius of a narrow arc as he adjusted the 
delicate receiving instruments connected with it. 
While he worked with excited but skillful haste, 
he turned around to his assistant and exclaimed: 

“I’ve got the pirate. Get Manila and Guam 
on the cable quick. Tell them to get a bearing 
on him. He’s using a five thousand meter wave. 
Rush it before he stops sending.” 

The assistant jumped to the table where the 
cable apparatus was located and in a few sec¬ 
onds had flashed the news across the Pacific 
that set the operators at the other two control 
stations busy. 

“Gee!”, yelled the chief operator in delight 
after a few more seconds intensive work, “I’ve 
got my bearing on him. If the other fellows 
hurry up they can get one too before he stops. 
Get Mr. Heathcote on the ’phone. Tell him 
we’ve got the pirate, and that we’ve got a bear¬ 
ing on him. My bearing reads W by S 78. Rush 
it quick now. This looks like the best chance 
we may get.” 

In response to the telephone message Commo¬ 
dore Heathcote came rushing over to the wire¬ 
less station personally. 

“Have you heard from Manila or Guam yet?” 
he inquired. 

“Not yet, Sir,” replied the operator. 

“Is the pirate still sending?” 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


73 


“No Sir, he stopped just before you came in.” 

At this moment the cable instruments began 
to work, and the assistant operator read out 
aloud each word from off the tape as it came in: 

“Guam — got — bearing — on — pirate — 
just — before — he stopped — sending — but 
not — finally — adjusted — for maximum — 
signals — bearing — as — obtained — is — E 
by S 82.” 

“Fine,” said Commodore Heathcote, you say 
yours was W by S 78. Alright, give me that 
chart.” 

Quickly and steadily the air officer worked out 
the triangulation of the bearing on the chart, 
first obtaining the bearing line on the Honolulu 
reading, then one from the Guam bearing. When 
this was completed he continued the resulting 
lines across the chart until they crossed one an¬ 
other. 

“That puts him roughly in latitude 16.50 N. 
and longitude 179 W.” he mused to himself, 
“Let’s see now, that’s about 700 miles from 
Wake Island, and—er—about 500 miles from 
Johnston Island.” 

Turning to the operator he said: “Get Com¬ 
mander Fitzgerald on the cable at Wake Island 
quickly. Tell him we have heard the pirate send¬ 
ing by wireless from Latitude 16.50 N. and Lon¬ 
gitude 179 W. Tell him to rush to that position 
at full speed with every available machine in his 
squadron. Tell him that we will advise him by 
wireless code of any change in the pirate’s posi¬ 
tion we may get. If he doesn’t hear from us 


74 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


again, tell him to make a general search of that 
vicinity as soon as he arrives there. By the 
way you haven’t heard from Manila, have your’ 

“No, Sir.” 

“Alright, get Wake Island first, then when 
you have sent the message call up Manila and 
ask him if he got a bearing. If he did we may be 
able to work out a more definite position.” 

The assistant operator at the cable complied 
with the Commodore’s request, and in a few mo¬ 
ments got an acknowledgment of the receipt of 
the message from Wiake Island. Then he called 
up Manila. After a short conversation with the 
operator at the latter station, he told the Com¬ 
modore that Manila had not been able to get his 
instruments adjusted properly before the pirate 
stopped sending. 

“Alright, never mind, we’ll do the best we 
can with this,” said Commodore Heathcote, 
“Let’s see now, there’s no cable at Johnston 
Island is there! Well, I don’t know whether it 
would be advisable to notify the squadron there 
by wireless or not. The position that we would 
have to give with the message would tip the pi¬ 
rate off that we were on his trail. Wait a little 
while till we hear from Fitzgerald, and then I’ll 
tell you what to do. In any case it will not take 
the machines at Johnston Island so long to get 
to the position as it will Fitzgerald’s squadron.” 

About five minutes later a cable reply was re¬ 
ceived from Commodore Fitzgerald at Wake Is¬ 
land. It said that fourteen airplanes of the 
squadron stationed on the island were ready to 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER !75 

take off and would start out immediately to the 
position given. 

“That’s fine,” said Heathcote, “it will take 
them about three and a half hours to get there. 
Fitzgerald will undoubtedly use his judgment 
in spreading his forces so as to cover as wide an 
area as possible. Keep our ears open for the 
pirate, and if he sends again get a bearing on 
him if possible so that we can get an idea of the 
course he is following. Tell Manila and Guam 
the same thing over the cable. Don’t use your 
wireless at all. I’ll be back again soon and let 
you know when to advise the Johnston Island 
squadron. If you get another position let me 
know immediately.” 

“Alright sir,” replied the operator. 

Before Commodore Heathcote got to the door, 
the operator at the cable instruments called to 
him to wait a moment as a message was coming. 
A few seconds later, he said: 

“It’s from Wake Island, sir, he says that Com¬ 
mander Fitzgerald with fourteen airplanes has 
just left in pursuit of the pirate.” 


CHAPTER TWELVE 


For two hours after Commander Fitzgerald 
and his squadron left Wake Island a wireless si¬ 
lence reigned over the Pacific Ocean. Through¬ 
out that period the operators at the naval wire¬ 
less stations of Honolulu, Guam and Manila sat 
with the telephone receivers glued to their ears 
listening with concentrated attention for the 
slightest sound from the pirate. 

In the meantime the squadron of pursuit air¬ 
planes was speeding over the vast reaches of the 
ocean at slightly better than two hundred miles 
an hour toward the position given in the cable 
message from Honolulu They were now within 
a flying distance of one hour and a half from 
that spot. The question revolving in the mind 
of Commander Fitzgerald as he sped along was 
the probability of the pirate rushing along from 
the position given at a speed equal to, or even 
greater than their own. The next two hours 
would determine that all important point. 

Suddenly in all three of the great naval wire¬ 
less station the signals from the pirate’s air¬ 
plane were heard again simultaneously. Clearly 
and distinctly they came across the intervening 
space. Apparently the operator on board was 
76 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


77 


merely trying out his apparatus because he was 
not sending out any intelligible message. Never¬ 
theless the operators at the naval stations took 
full advantage of the situation and trained their 
Direction Finders on him. A few moments 
work and all three obtained bearings before the 
pirate operator ceased sending. 

“ ’Phone Commodore Heathcote quick,” yelled 
the chief operator at the Honolulu station to his 
assistant. This done he continued, “Now get 
Guam and Manila and ask them if they got bear¬ 
ings.” 

Before the cable queries were sent and ans¬ 
wered Commodore Heathcote entered the station. 

“What do you make it this time?” he inquired 
breathlessly, 

“Why, Sir, it’s very strange,” said the opera¬ 
tor, “but my reading is exactly the same as last 
time. I’m waiting to see what Guam and Hono¬ 
lulu say so that I can check up with them.” 

“Here’s the Guam report now,” broke in the 
assistant operator from the cable table. It says 
4 my bearing is the same as last time. I made two 
adjustments but obtained the same results each 
time. ’ ’ 

“Alright,” said Heathcote, “Now call up Ma¬ 
nila and see if by any chance he has succeeded in 
getting a reading. He was forewarned this time, 
and may have got a bearing. If he has it will 
act as a complete check on the position.” 

After a few seconds’ work, the operator at the 
cable instruments got up and said: “Yes sir, he 
obtained a bearing, and he reports that it is E 


78 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


by N 87.” 

“That’s good, let’s see what it shows,” re¬ 
plied Heathcote as he picked up a chart and 
commenced to work upon it. 

“By George!” he continued a few moments 
later, that absoutely confirms your first obser¬ 
vation and puts the position at 16.50 N, 179 W. 
The only explanation I can give for it is that 
the pirate has been flying in circles around that 
general vicinity, probably for the purpose of 
picking up and attacking some commercial air¬ 
ship. If he only keeps there, Fitzgerald will get 
to him within the next hour. We couldn’t have 
wished for anything better.” 

“Shall I advise Commander Fitzgerald by 
wireless, sir?” asked the operator. 

“No” replied Heathcote, “keep quiet. Fitz¬ 
gerald is going to that position as fast as he 
can get there. He will continue on his course 
I’m sure, even though he does not hear from us, 
and it will bring him there shortly. If you send 
any signals now it will tip the pirate off. Fitz¬ 
gerald will be able to tackle him with his squad¬ 
ron, and won’t need any assistance. This looks 
like a great chance to get this fellow. I don’t 
think it would be wise to send the Johnston Isl¬ 
and squadron after him. No, the best thing we 
can do now is to keep quiet. Tell Guam and Ma¬ 
nila the same thing. Tell them under no circum¬ 
stances to use their wireless again without in¬ 
structions from us.” 

For the next hour Heathcote remained in the 
wireless station. Both he and the chief operator 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


79 


were in a state of suppressed excitement. The 
latter listened intently for the slightest sound. In 
their minds both conjured up a picture of the 
dramatic scene that they were certain was about 
to be enacted close to the central meridian of 
the eastern world, a scene they felt sure would 
cause a thrill to surge throughout civilization. 
The minutes ticked slowly by until more than an 
hour passed since the second reading had been 
obtained. Then across the ether came this sig¬ 
nal from Fitzgerald’s airplane: 

“PCG.” 

That was all. Heathcote, keenly alert, had no¬ 
ticed the almost imperceptible movement of the 
operator as the signal commenced and leaned 
over his shoulder as the latter wrote down the 
three letter signal. 

4 ‘Good,” exclaimed the commodore, “that 
means he has sighted the pirate. Now things 
will begin to happen in a few minutes. Every¬ 
thing depends upon the speed and maneuvrabil- 
ity of the pirate machine. If it is no better than 
our own machines we’ll get him sure.” 

Patiently the three men in the wireless sta¬ 
tion waited for what seemed an eternity. Then 
suddenly there came this signal: 

“AE.” 

“That means he has engaged the pirate,” said 
Heathcote, “and has opened fire. Keep your 
ears open now for everything that comes along. 
There’s nothing more we can do but wait.” 

And wait they did. For thirty long minutes 
not a sound came from the spot in the vast 


80 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


Pacific where was being fought the momentous 
battle in the skies that was to determine the im¬ 
mediate future of commercial transport. At the 
end of that period Heathcote could no longer re¬ 
strain his impatience. He said to the operator: 

“Send out a call to Fitzgerald and ask him 
what has happened if you can get him.” 

The operator obeyed. For several minutes he 
called repeatedly, but could get no reply. Sud¬ 
denly at the end of ten minutes he began to ad¬ 
just his receiving apparatus very carefully with 
his right hand, while with his left hand he 
pressed the telephone receiver tightly into his 
ear. He continued this for several minutes and 
then with a sigh of disappointment relaxed. 

“What’s the trouble,” asked Commodore 
Heathcote. 

“I couldn’t raise Commander Fitzgerald’s 
ship,” replied the operator, “but I heard very 
faint signals that sounded like the sending of 
the pirate operator. I thought perhaps he was 
using a small powered set. I tried to amplify 
the signals, but it was no use. He was sending 
something but I couldn’t make out what it was.” 

“That’s strange,” said the air officer, “I 
wonder what’s happened. In any case if that 
was the pirate it means that he is still flying, 
otherwise he wouldn’t be sending by wireless. I 
wonder why Fitzgerald doesn’t reply.” 

“Oh, here he is now, sir,” said the operator, 
“he’s sending something. Wait now.” 

Picking up a pencil the operator began to 
write the following: 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


81 


“Why do yon impose such a condition. Why 
don’t you act like a man. You ought to take a 
fair chance or none at all.” 

“Is that what he said?” asked Heathcote, and 
receiving an answer in the affirmative continued, 
“I wonder what he means? That certainly 
sounds funny.” 

The operator listened in for several minutes 
but no further messages were sent. He had just 
made up his mind to call up Fitzgerald when 
signals began coming in. Turning to Commodore 
Heathcote the operator exclaimed. 

“Here’s Commander Fitzgerald calling us 
now, Sir.” 

The operator answered the call, and then be¬ 
gan to write: 

“ Heathcote Honolulu: We sighted the pirate 
flying in circles at approximate altitude of twen¬ 
ty-five thousand. At that time we were in wide¬ 
spread formation at fifteen thousand. I gave or¬ 
der to ascend to twenty-five thousand. The pi¬ 
rate continued flying on his circular course until 
we came within range. 

“I ordered our machines to open fire at three 
thousand yards, and the pirate returned it. Sud¬ 
denly he straightened out his course and com¬ 
menced to fly due north. We followed up, but 
he evidently had greatly superior speed and 
greater climbing ability. We started the chase 
but he soon outdistanced us, and he is now dis¬ 
appearing over the northern horiozn. We were 
making two hundred miles an hour, but he must 
be doing close to three hundred miles an hour. 


82 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


We were hopelessly outclassed. Just as he was 
disappearing we received a call from him by 
wireless. He sent us the following message: 

“ ‘You took us by surprise today, and we 
weren’t ready to engage you. We are not afraid 
of your superior numbers. We are going back 
to our base for more ammunition. We shall be 
back at the same position tomorrow at this time, 
and will join action with you on the following 
conditions: that you do not bring any more air¬ 
planes with you than you have today; that no 
other machines are held in reserve; and that 
you do not send any destroyers or cruisers to 
this position. We are willing to give you battle 
on those terms. By the way, we promised to give 
Miss Ingleton a flight tomorrow.’ ” 

“You can easily see the significance of that 
last sentence. I will discuss this with you by 
cable when we get back to our base.—Fitz¬ 
gerald.” 


CHAPTER THIRTEEN 


Three hours after the dramatic scene had been 
enacted in Mid-Pacific, Commander Fitzgerald 
and his squadron landed at their base on Wake 
Island. After ordering the mechanics to exam¬ 
ine the machines thoroughly, Fitzgerald went to 
the telegraph office where, with the aid of the 
operator, he resumed his conversation with Com¬ 
modore Heathcote at Honolulu. It began with a 
detailed description of the remarkable encoun¬ 
ter with the pirate over the vast expanse of the 
Pacific. It told of the receipt of the wireless 
challenge from the pirate with its sardonic con¬ 
clusion and continued with Fitzgerald exclaim¬ 
ing: 

“My God, Heathcote, it looks as though he 
were carrying Miss Ingleton with him as a shield 
wherever he goes. It certainly complicates the 
situation for us.” 

“It’s a terrible dilemma,” agreed Heathcote, 
“but we’ve got a duty to perform. Don’t you 
think perhaps that the last part of his message 
is a bluff to scare us off and insure his immuni¬ 
ty from attack?” 

“It may be,” came back the answer, “but we 
can’t afford to take any chance on it.” 

83 


84 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


“That may be true,” replied Heathcote, “and 
there’s no doubt that if you attack him you will 
jeopardize the life of Miss Ingleton, but we must 
not allow the last circumstance to deter us from 
making the attack. 

“The pirate may not be as careful of life in 
future attacks as he has been in the past if he 
gets the impression that he has secured immuni¬ 
ty from attack by the presence of Miss Ingle¬ 
ton on board. It is a stern situation that faces 
us, but my judgement is that we have a duty 
confronting us, and that we must perform that 
duty irrespective of the consequences.” 

“It may be just a blind to cover up his opera¬ 
tions somewhere else,” said Fitzgerald. 

“Well, if it’s a plant,” replied Heathcote, “we 
will have to take care of the situation to the best 
of our ability with the other squadrons. They 
have all been advised now and are on the alert. 
If he’s on the level about coming to the same 
position, it’s a good chance to have a go at him. 
You ought to be able to take his measure with 
your squadron, if he will stand the fight and not 
take advantage of his great speed.” 

“Don’t misunderstand me,” Fitzgerald shot 
back, “I desire nothing better than to try con¬ 
clusions with him, and I’m anxious to get back 
there. I was only discussing the possibilities of 
the situation so that we couldn’t get left any¬ 
where. You don’t realize how serious the situa¬ 
tion is with me, old man. I may as well tell you 
right now that I am desperately in love with 
Miss Ingleton and would willingly give my life 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


85 


for her, and now I am placed in a position where 
by doing my duty I may take her life. Oh, I know 
the dictates of duty allow but one decision, but 
I’m human. Besides, I have another duty to 
her parents. I promised them to take care of her 
under all circumstances. Don’t you see what a 
difficult position I am in'?” 

“Yes, I understand,” replied Heathcote, “and 
I certainly sympathize with you, but it seems to 
me the best thing to do under the circumstances 
will be for you to proceed to the position we lo¬ 
cated him in yesterday, with your squadron fully 
prepared to engage him. You ought to arrange 
to arrive there as nearly as possible at the same 
time as today. I’ll tell my wireless operator and 
the operators at Guam and Manila to keep a 
sharp lookout for him. If he starts sending by 
wireless we can check up on his position and let 
you know where he is. If he does show up I 
think that you ought to engage him and take a 
chance of disabling him if possible. If you could 
do that and compel him to alight on the surface 
of the ocean there might be a chance of saving 
Miss Ingleton. What do you think?” 

“Alright then, I’ll go back to that position at 
the same time tomorrow,” replied Fitzgerald, 
“I’ll be ready to engage him if he shows up. I’ll 
also be on the look out for any communication 
from you. I’ll do the best I can and instruct, 
every pilot in my squadron to do likewise.” 


CHAPTEE THIRTEEN 


The following day dawned fair and clear, and 
with everything pre-arranged Fitzgerald and his 
squadron set out again to the rendez-vous with 
the pirate, but without the keen desire and light¬ 
heartedness that marked their departure on the 
previous day. 

Fitzgerald’s heart was heavy with fear but he 
was now on his way determined to engage the 
pirate no matter what the consequences to his 
beloved might be. For the moment he was a 
man prompted in his actions solely by the 
strength of a single determination. 

From the time his squadron left its base at 
Wake Island a hundred ears listened patiently 
but anxiously upon the various islands for the 
outcome, and the operators at the three big nav- 
val wireless stations were keenly alert on their 
jobs. Each minute that slowly passed by was al¬ 
most a lifetime of concentrated effort for them. 
For two long weary hours this condition pre¬ 
vailed. Then came the break in the monotony, 
as all three simultaneously heard the signals of 
the pirate’s wireless voice. 

Feverishly they worked with their Direction 
Finders. Each moment was precious, as there 
86 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


87 


was no telling when the pirate operator would 
cease his voluntary effort, particularly as he 
must be fully aware by this time that his tell¬ 
tale signals were betraying his location to the 
alert ears of the government operators. Still he 
continued sending as though blissfully ignorant 
of the fact. 

A few moments of intensive work on the part 
of the naval operators completed their impor¬ 
tant task, and a brief cable intercommunication 
gave the operator at Honolulu all three bear¬ 
ings. These the latter quickly worked out on 
the chart. The resulting position showed the 
pirate was practically in the same locality that 
he had been detected in the previous day. Short¬ 
ly before this Commodore Heathcote had entered 
the wireless room to await the outcome of the 
situation, and he went over the position with 
the operator. 

“Well, that’s alright,” said Heathcote; then 
as though thinking aloud, he continued, “It 
shows he has kept the first part of his challenge. 
Now if he’ll only stand a fight we may get him, 
but can we save Miss Ingleton, that’s the ques¬ 
tion? There’s another thing that I’m worried 
about too, and that’s his willingness to fight. He 
has already shown that he possesses superior 
speed to us and he may have another surprise up 
his sleeve as far as fighting is concerned. I can 
think of no other reason for his apparent wil¬ 
lingness to accept a fight against greater odds. 
Still if he has such a surprise we might as well 
learn it by experience now as later. It may mean 


88 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


the safety of Miss Ingleton. Anyway once we 
know what it is we can take steps to meet it in 
the fntnre. One thing I’m sure of and that is 
Fitzgerald will give him a good fight even if it 
means sacrificing Miss Ingleton. He puts duty 
above everything else.” 

Then to the operator he said: 

“Call up Fitzgerald and tell him by code we’ve 
located the pirate in the same position.” 

This the operator did, and then for slightly 
more than an hour another weary wait ensued 
for the watchers ashore. Presently came the sig¬ 
nal from Fitzgerald that he had sighted the pi¬ 
rate, and this was followed twenty minutes later 
by the three letter code indicating the battle had 
opened between the man who had outlawed him¬ 
self and the organized forces of government. 

It was the signal for anxious moments in the 
wireless station, where the full significance of 
the momentous battle was fully understood. 
Would the pirate stand his ground to the con¬ 
clusion of the encounter and risk Miss Ingleton 
and himself, or would he again take advantage 
of his great speed and flee from the scene at 
the critical moment of the fight? Did he have 
Miss Ingleton aboard, as he intimated he would 
in his wireless challenge? Had he really some 
battle surprise to spring on his unwary but num¬ 
erous opponents? 

These questions were to be fully answered 
within a short time, but in the period of uncer¬ 
tain waiting that had to elapse before the out¬ 
come of the battle could be learned every pos- 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 89 

sible angle of the tense dramatic situation re¬ 
volved again and again within their minds. 

For ten epochal minutes they waited and then 
came another three letter code signal from Fitz¬ 
gerald. Air Commodore Heathcote quickly de¬ 
coded it. 

“It says the engagement is now general. That 
means the pirate is standing his ground and 
risking everything. Now we’ll soon know whe¬ 
ther he has got any surprise in store for us or 
not.” 

For another fifteen minutes the watchers at 
the wireless station waited with as much pa¬ 
tience as they could command. 'Then suddenly 
the operator with almost imperceptible move¬ 
ment straightened up in his chair, picked up his 
pencil and began to write: 

“K. C. G.” 

“Good God!” exclaimed Heathcote, “that 
means the pirate has been vanquished. Get Fitz¬ 
gerald back as quick as you can and ask him to 
give us a brief outline of the fight right away. 
Ask him if Miss Ingleton was saved. My God, 
get him quick! This suspense is killing.” 

Without waiting to reply the operator grasped 
his key and sent out the call, while the air com¬ 
modore leaned over his shoulder impatiently. In 
a few minutes the answer came back: 

“I am flying direct to Honolulu, but will stop 
at Johnston Island for fuel. I will make a com¬ 
plete report. We have won the victory, but I 
have lost my soul. The pirate airplane was shot 


90 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


down and sank immediately with all hands, in¬ 
cluding Miss Ingleton.” 

Heathcote read the message word by word 
mechanically as the operator wrote it down. 
Then in a brief flash its full significance sank 
deep within his mind, and he collapsed in his 
chair from the mental overstrain. 

“Oh! my God!” he exclaimed weakly. “Have 
we done right. What shall I do.” 


CHAPTER FIFTEEN 


Hour after hour Heathcote, a prey to conflict¬ 
ing emotions, waited with patience at the land¬ 
ing beach of the Pearl Harbor seaplane station 
for the arrival of Fitzgerald from the scene of 
action. Ten hours after the momentous battle 
in the skies had been* fought the leading pur¬ 
suit plane of number two squadron hove in sight 
and quickly came to a landing in the bay. 

As it drew up alongside the landing beach, me¬ 
chanics waded out and carried Commander Fitz¬ 
gerald back on their shoulders to the beach. He 
was almost exhausted from the long physical and 
mental strain he had undergone. Heathcote 
rushed over to him, and grasping him by the 
arm, almost shouted in his anxiety. 

“Come over to my office quick, and tell me 
all about it.” 

The two men walked over to the executive 
buildings and entered Heathcote *s office, where 
Fitzgerald literally fell into a chair from ex¬ 
haustion and explained: 

4 ‘Get me a stimulant of some kind, and then 
I’ll tell you what happened!” 

A few moments later he began his narrative 
of the encounter with the pirate: 

91 


92 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


“We arrived at the position and found con¬ 
ditions about the same as yesterday,” he began, 
“The pirate was circling around at about the 
same altitude. I had maneuvered to the north 
of him to be in a better position in case he 
should determine to run. 

“As soon as we came within 3,000 yards of 
him I was about to give the signal to open fire, 
when he began to send us a message on his short 
range wireless set. In it he said: 

“ A see you have complied with the conditions 
I stated yesterday. Are you still determined to 
fight?” 

‘ ‘ I told him I was, and then he said: 

“ ‘Well, I thought it was only fair to tell you 
that I have Miss Ingleton on board. She is com¬ 
ing out to wave to you.’ 

“By this time we were pretty close to the 
pirate’s machine. As he finished sending a figure 
from the forward gunner’s cockpit, and, after 
standing upright a few moments as though in 
doubt, began to wave to us rather weakly. The 
figure was clad in flying clothes and it was im¬ 
possible to recognize who it was. There was, 
however, something about the waving of the arm 
that suggested a feminine rather than a mas¬ 
culine gesture. In my mind there was no doubt 
that it was Miss Ingleton. 

“The sight of her standing there helpless at 
the pirate’s mercy, and undoubtedly compelled to 
do his bidding, made me see red. It was a good 
thing for the pirate that he was not near me at 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


93 


the time. I could have torn him limb from limb 
in my fury. 

“The effect on the rest of my squadron was 
the same. I had discussed the situation fully 
with my pilots before we left Wake Island and 
had impressed upon them the fact that duty was 
paramount to everything. Despite their anger 
at the pirate’s tactics they were not at all anxi¬ 
ous to be instrumental in the death of a woman. 
Still they were ready to obey my orders. 

“I signaled back to the pirate to get ready 
for action because I was going to attack imme¬ 
diately and not waste any further time in theat¬ 
ricals. That’s what I told him. There was a 
change of figures in the forward cockpit of the 
pirate’s machine, which was undoubtedly the 
gunner taking the place of Miss Ingleton who 
went inside the machine. 

“I gave the order to engage and all our ships 
opened fire with incendiary shells. The pirate 
answered vigorously. We soon found the range 
but he began a series of lightning-like maneuvers 
that demonstrated the remarkable qualities of 
his machine, particularly in its ability for rapid 
climb. He commenced to climb, and we followed 
him, but we were outclassed. 

“He was putting up a magnificent fight, and 
with the advantage of maneuvrability in his 
favor, he succeeded in shooting down two of our 
machines in the first two minutes of the en¬ 
counter. This loss fired the rest of our squadron 
with the desire to finish the pirate once for all. 

“The action was now general. Our men were 


94 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


firing every time there was an opportunity The 
advantage of superior maneuvring ability en¬ 
joyed by the pirate, however, put him in a favor¬ 
able position of immunity from concentrated 
attack, because we were so numerous there 
was a chance that we might hit one another. 
Consequently our men were only firing when they 
got an obsolute sight on the pirate’s machine. 

“After a few minutes indulged in these tactics 
the pirate began a rapid descent, and we fol¬ 
lowed him as closely as possible. The battle 
was continued throughout the maneuvre of des- 
descent. 

“Down came the pirate until he wasn’t more 
than a hundred feet from the surface of the 
ocean. In this position he went through a num¬ 
ber of rapid evolutions fighting desperately all 
the time. At this altitude he showed con¬ 
siderable daring and succeeded in downing an¬ 
other of our machines. Our men were having 
more difficulty at the low altitude, especially 
while turning. 

“Quite suddenly it was noticed that the forward 
gunner on the pirate machine was missing from 
his position, and for several seconds there had 
not been a shot fired from any part of his ma¬ 
chine at all. Before the pirate could resume ac¬ 
tion one of our ships seemed to get a lucky hit, 
and the most remarkable thing I have ever seen 
occurred. The wings of the pirate machine liter¬ 
ally crumpled up, and it plunged into the sea. 
It was not a nose dive, because he went under 
at a wide angle with terrific speed, leaving a 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


95 


tremendous wash of water behind. The whole 
thing happened so quickly that it was impossible 
to give an accurate description of the scene. 

“We cruised around for a few minutes, but 
there was no further sign of the pirate’s ma¬ 
chine It had disappeared completely and carried 
all hands with it. We had hoped to be able to 
rescue Miss Ingleton, and I landed on the sur¬ 
face and cruised around near the scene looking 
for every possibe chance to do this, but our ef¬ 
forts were in vain. There was not a single 
trace left of him. Apparently he had sunk abso¬ 
lutely and completely. There was not even a 
trace of oil on the surface where he disappeared. 

“I am sorry to say that Flight Lieutenants 
Frank, Evans and Dallinger were killed in the 
action together with their gunners and mechan¬ 
ics. Their machines were completely lost, and 
we were unable to render them any assistance. 
That is our story, all there is of it.” 

As he concluded, Fitzgerald rose to his feet 
unsteadily. A marked change had come over 
him as he reached the climax of his dramatic 
story. He was plainly in the throes of dispair. 
Upon his face there was a look of horror, and 
his hands were tightly clenched by the intensity 
of his feelings. His whole frame shook violently 
as he raised his arms and then shouted with a 
frenzy that was almost histerical: 

“I have done my duty,—yes, I have done my 
duty, but I have damned my heart and soul. For 
the rest of my life the vision of my beloved 
standing irresolute and waving her arm with 


96 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


such hesitant fear in the pirate’s machine will 
be forever before me I cannot cast it from my 
mind. It remains to prey upon my conscience. 
I have done my duty, but at what a price,—I 
am through. Oh! my God! I’ve killed the woman 
I love!” 

The light of passion died out in Fitzgerald’s 
eyes. He wavered a moment upon his tired feet 
and then collapsed from sheer exhaustion and 
mental agony. Heathcote rushed over to him 
and with some difficulty managed to get him 
into a chair. He then reached for restoratives 
and began to apply them. 

As he worked the door of his office opened. 
Heathcote looked up. On the threshold stood 
Arthur Ingleton, former secretary of the Navy. 
For several seconds the two men looked at each 
other, then Ingleton exclaimed: 

“Tell me, what has happened to my daugh¬ 
ter?” 


CHAPTER SIXTEEN 


Thus came the climax to the most remarkable 
piratical adventure in history. Glaring head¬ 
lines in the newspapers throughout the world 
told the story of the dramatic battle in the skies 
and brought a sigh of relief to the inhabitants 
of every country that the menace of the pirate 
had been removed. Editorials galore were 
written pointing out the futility of such excur¬ 
sions into outlawry and praising the action of 
organized government that planned and executed 
so successfully the measures against the man 
who had placed himself outside the pale of the 
law. 

Although the news of the pirate’s demise 
brought a feeling of satisfaction to the world 
in general to two persons in Honolulu it 
brought calamity. To one, a father, it brought 
grief over the tragic death of his only daughter 
and fear for the recovery of his wife who had 
been prostrated from shock ever since the forc¬ 
ible abduction of her daughter by the pirate. 
To the other, the victor over the pirate, after a 
brief moment of merciful oblivion, it brought a 
state of collapse of all his forces of vitality 
which set in as a result of the complications that 
97 


98 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


had followed upon his physical fatigue and grave 
mental anguish. 

Fitzgerald’s condition had become so serious 
after his collapse that it had been necessary to 
remove him immediately to the post hospital. 
There physicians were attempting to restore him, 
but his mental condition was such that they ex¬ 
pressed grave fears over the chances of his re¬ 
covery. 

By one of the strangest freaks of fortune, 
Arthur Ingleton had arrived on the transpacific 
airship at Honolulu at the dramatic moment in 
Fitzgerald’s narrative. He arrived to begin the 
quest for his daughter, only to learn that she 
had been killed. 

His was a tragic quandary. On the one hand 
he found his mission set to naught at its very 
inception by the irony of fate, and on the other 
he was confronted with the task of breaking the 
news to his wife who was already in a serious 
condition as the result of the abduction of her 
daughter. What effect would the news of her 
death have upon his wife? He dreaded the 
thought. He had already made inquiries as to 
her condition to telephone immediately after his 
arrival. When told how serious her condition 
was he had agreed with the hospital authorities 
that it would be best not to tell her of his 
arrival before he had surveyed the situation. 
Now all he had to tell her, when greeting her, 
was that Mary was dead. 

As he pondered over the situation he realized 
that he must think before acting. “I cannot tell 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


99 


her yet,” he told himself, “because the news 
would kill her. Yet I cannot permit her to build 
up false hopes as the effect of the final an¬ 
nouncement might be equally grave. I must 
await before seeing her and plan out some 
means whereby the shock of the news will be 
minimized.” 

For two days he was impaled upon the horns 
of his dilemma, with no escape in sight. It was 
more than two months since his wife had been 
carried to the hospital after her daughter was 
taken on the pirate machine. He himself had 
not been able to get to Honolulu before because 
of the interruption in the transpacific airship 
schedules caused by the presence and activity 
of the pirate. His wife was convalescing very 
slowly, and while much better physically, was 
still in such a mental state that her physicians 
counseled against anything that might cause her 
further shock. He had consulted with them, 
told them of the situation as soon as he had 
learned Fitzgerald’s story and asked their ad¬ 
vice. They told him it were best for the present 
to keep the news of their daughter’s death from 
his wife, and also that it would be better for him 
to wait further before seeing her, particularly 
as she would unquestionably ask him about Mary.. 

Not only was Mrs. Ingleton in a serious condi¬ 
tion, but Commander Fitzgerald was much 
worse. His long exposure in the flight to the 
scene of the battle and during the battle, and the 
subsequent flight to Honolulu, coupled with the 
extreme mental strain under which he had la- 


100 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


bored, had produced such serious results that 
the doctors at the post hospital were of the opin¬ 
ion that his recovery would be a very long pro¬ 
cess, even with every chance favoring him. In 
fact they frankly stated there was a strong 
possibility that he might not recover at all 

During the past two days he had been in a 
semi-conscious state, but extremely restless. 
Throughout this period he uttered unintelligible 
and incoherent sentences in long, rambling 
speeches, and he had not had a single lucid mo¬ 
ment. He had failed completely to recognize 
anyone who approached him. Even Ingleton 
who called in the hospital in the hope of learning 
something from him about Mary’s death, failed 
to elicit the slightest recognition. 

Such was the situation at Honolulu. In the 
meantime Commodore Heathcote and the other 
air commanders had received instructions from 
Washington to disband, as quickly as possible, 
all the emergency aerodromes that had been es¬ 
tablished for the purpose of coping with the 
pirate. They were told to superintend the work 
of transporting all the squadrons and their 
equipment back to their permanent bases. 

This work was already under way. The com¬ 
mercial air transportation lines resumed their 
normal schedules. The operating companies had 
lost no time, after the official notice* of the pir¬ 
ate’s destruction had been announced, in getting 
back to their regular service. The experience 
gained since the advent of the pirate and during 
his brief reign of terror, were the subject of 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


101 


many governmental conferences. From all quar¬ 
ters came the insistent demand for adequate per¬ 
manent policing of the distant* airways of the 
world with the most up-to-date and effective 
aircraft units, so that any possible menace of 
similar nature could in the future be coped with 
at the very outset, thereby eliminating any pos¬ 
sibility of disruption to the regular aerial transit 
lines that had become necessary arteries in the 
world’s commerce. 

To satisfy this demand two picked squadrons 
that had been dispatched to the Pacific for duty 
against the pirate were ordered to remain in 
Honolulu temporarily until such time as their 
permanent location for police duty should have 
been finally decided. 


CHAPTER SEVENTEEN 


The time passed slowly as the situation over 
the Pacific Ocean gradually assumed a normal 
condition. Day after day lapsed into infinity 
with Arthur Ingle ton waiting aimlessly and 
almost hopelessly, wondering what to do. In 
this manner two weeks passed by. Then one 
morning he received a call at his hotel over the 
telephone from the hospital where his wife was 
lying, asking him to come there as quickly as 
possible. On arrival there he was met by the 
superintendent who said: 

“I’m very sorry to tell you Mr. Ingleton that 
your wife has suffered a relapse, and we thought 
it best to call you. I will summon Dr. Harring¬ 
ton who is attending her.” 

A few moments later Dr. Harrington came 
into the superintendent’s room. 

“There is no use in discussing the situation, 
Mr. Ingleton,” he said, “Your wife has taken 
a decided turn for the worse. She is in a kind 
of stupor. I have been thinking that if we 
could awaken her interest we might bring about 
a change and put her on the road to recovery. 
There is no doubt that your presence will revive 
her interest, but if she should find out about 
102 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


103 


your daughter’s death the result would be dis¬ 
astrous. What do you think?” 

The expression of deep concern and apprehen¬ 
sion that crept over Ingleton’s face clearly 
showed his thoughts. After a few moments’ re¬ 
flection he said: 

“I think it may be just as well if I go and see 
her. I may be able to awaken her interest suffi¬ 
ciently to help in improving her condition. If 
she asks me about Mary, I’ll try to evade her 
question for the time being.” 

Ingleton followed Dr. Harrington through the 
hospital until they came to a room where his 
wife was lying. As they entered, the nurse who 
was sitting alongside the bed, got up and made 
way for them. Ingleton walked over to the head 
of the bed and, bending over, kissed his wife and 
gently clasped her hand. The patient’s eyes 
opened languidly and glanced up wearily. Then 
as she recognized her husband, they lit with 
a gleam of pleasurable excitement. 

“Oh! Arthur,” she said feebly, “I’m so glad 
you came. I have waited such a long time for 
you, dear.” 

An expression of contentment settled upon her 
worn face, and Dr. Harrington who stood by 
watching closely, nodded approvingly. 

“I came here as quickly as I could, dear,” re¬ 
plied Ingleton. “Now I want to see you get 
well again soon.” 

“Oh! I will,” declared his wife, and then as 
in an after-thought, she asked, “Have you got 
Mary for me?” 


104 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


For a moment Ingleton paused, thinking 
rapidly for a reply. Before he could frame one 
his wife exclaimed: 

“ Nothing has happened to her, Arthur ?” 

The unexpectedness of this question coming 
in the midst of his hurried thoughts left Ingleton 
still further perplexed and at a loss for an 
answer with which to allay his wife’s anxiety. 
With quick intuition she grasped the situation 
and cried out: 

“Oh! Arthur, for God’s sake, tell me! I know 
something terrible has happened, and you don’t 
want to tell me. I know it. What is it?” 

“There, there, dear,” pleaded Ingleton, 
“Don’t excite yourself. We want you to get 
well again. Everything will be alright,” 

“Oh! you’re hiding it from me,” sobbed his 
wife, “you won’t tell me. I know it’s something 
terrible. I know it! I know it!!” 

Turning over in bed and burying her face in 
the pillows, she burst into a fit of hysterical 
tears, and her weakened frame shook with the 
violence of her sobs. Her husband looked on 
in helpless fear. Dr. Harrington, however, 
quickly saw the seriousness of the situation and, 
summoning the nurse, administered a drug in an 
effort to quiet the paroxysm of his patient. He 
motioned Ingleton to be seated and not to say 
anything further. 

While this pathetic scene was being enacted 
in the hospital, another more amazing one was 
taking place over the Pacific Ocean. The wire¬ 
less operator on duty at Pearl Harbor, listening 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


105 


with indifferent patience, had been electrified 
into sudden action by an S. 0. S. call. Quickly 
answering it, he received a reply from the trans¬ 
pacific airship Montgolfier, whose operator sent 
the following message: 

“ Montgolfier, 300 miles east of Honolulu at¬ 
tacked by strange airplane. We are disabled 
and settling to the surface of the ocean rapidly. 
Eush assistance immediately. Won’t be able to 
send much longer.” 

Before the Honolulu operator could acknow¬ 
ledge the message, another call came in on the 
same wave length. There was something famil¬ 
iar about the sending, and he listened carefully. 
Presently the second station began to send a 
message. Picking up a pencil the Pearl Harbor 
operator wrote down: 

“Please give my compliments to Commodore 
Heathcote. Tell him he has a lot to learn about 
the art of aviation. I hope that Commander 
Fitzgerald enjoyed his little scrap with us. Miss 
Ingleton sends her best wishes.” 

That was all. Beading it over after it was 
completed, the operator rubbed his head in 
amazement and then exclaimed: 

“Well I’ll be damned.” 

For a few minutes he sent out a series of 
queries to the sender of the message, but got 
no further response. He also tried to get in 
touch with the Montgolfier again, but his efforts 
in this respect also failed. Then he telephoned 
to Commodore Heathcote and read the message 
to him. The latter came over to the station. 


106 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


where he examined the message carefully and 
questioned the operator about their receipt. 

“Good God!” he exclaimed, “if they mean 
anything at all they mean that the pirate is 
still on the job and couldn’t have been de¬ 
stroyed by Fitzgerald. How on earth could he 
have possibly escaped? That’s strange! The 
pirate certainly had a surprise up his sleeve 
for us alright. I wonder what his secret is? 
We’re in a worse fix now than ever.” 

Without wasting any further time on con¬ 
jecture, Heathcote rushed out to the hangars 
and ordered a squadron of the largest type of 
bombing machines to fly out three hundred 
miles east and search for traces of the Mont¬ 
golfier. and if possible pick up her survivors. 
Having completed this task and witnessed the 
departure of the rescuing craft, he went over to 
the post hospital He knew the astonishing news 
would materially affect Fitzgerald, and the fact 
that Miss Ingleton was safe might prove to be 
the rallying point for his recovery. 

Before he left for the hospital, however, 
Heathcote also dispatched an officer over to 
Ingleton’s hotel with copies of the messages to 
show to the former secretary of the navy. The 
clerk of the hotel told the officer that Mr. 
Ingleton was at the general hospital, and the 
latter went there. He was ushered into the 
waiting room. After he had explained the urg¬ 
ency of his message, a nurse went to summon 
Ingleton from the bedside of his wife. In a 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


107 


few seconds she returned with the former sec¬ 
retary. 

‘We have just received word that your daugh¬ 
ter is alive and well, Sir,” said the officer 
handing copies of the message to him. 

Ingleton read them over carefully and slowly, 
then with a sigh of deep regret he exclaimed: 

“Good Heavens! why didn’t I wait.” 

He hurried back to his wife’s room and pushed 
the messages into Hr. Harrington’s hands, say¬ 
ing: 

“Here’s good news for your patient, doctor.” 

Almost mechanically Dr. Harrington took the 
messages and glanced over them. Then his eyes 
wandered slowly over to the recumbent figure in 
the bed now strangely silent, and then, with the 
light of compassion softening them, they turned 
upon Ingleton as the doctor, with a catch in his 
voice, said: 

“I’m sorry, dreadfully sorry, Ingleton, but 
these messages came too late.” 


CHAPTER EIGHTEEN 


A flight of an hour and a half over the island- 
strewn waters of Hawaii brought the rescuing 
airplanes to the scene of the latest aerial out¬ 
rage. The machines of the squadron were spread 
out in open formation and had been flying at an 
altitude of ten thousand feet until they arrived 
at a point approximately there hundred miles 
from Honolulu, in the vicinity of the position 
given in the S. 0. S. messages. Now they spi¬ 
ralled down to a thousand feet and began a care¬ 
ful search of the waters for signs of the Mont¬ 
golfier or her survivors. The skies were ab¬ 
solutely void of other craft. 

After cruising about for a few moments, a 
number of small objects were discerned on the 
water, and the commander of the squadron 
ordered his machines to alight near them The 
order was quickly obeyed, and shortly after¬ 
wards the plane taxied up alongside what proved 
to be the lifeboats of the airship Montgolfier. 
There was no sign of the airship itself. Un¬ 
doubtedly it had sunk. 

After a quick survey of the situation the 
commander of the squadron decided there was 
ample room in the bomb chambers of the huge 
108 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


109 


airplanes to carry all the passengers and crew 
of the Mongolfier back to Honolulu, and the 
task of transferring the survivors from the boats 
to the airplanes was quickly accomplished. 

This done, the machines started back on the 
flight to Honolulu, which was accomplished in 
a little less than two hours. On arrival there, 
special care was taken of the women passengers 
who were suffering quite a little from the trying 
experience, followed by the long exposure in the 
small open boats and the flight back to the 
Hawaiian capital. While this was being done 
the captain and officers of the Montgolfier were 
escorted to the office of Commodore Heathcote, 
where the captain told the story of the loss of 
his airship. 

It was a story similar in detail to the previous 
attacks made by the pirate. It left no doubt 
that the airplane which attacked the Mongolfier 
was the same that had destroyed the Langley 
and Wilbur Weight, and had supposedly been 
sunk during the battle with the squadron of Com¬ 
mander Fitzgerald. Whatever doubt might have 
existed about the identity of the perpetrator of 
the latest piratical attack was quickly dispelled 
by the latter part of the captain’s narrative. 

6 6 While we were transferring our passengers 
to the lifeboats,” he continued, “the attacking 
airplane, which had landed on the surface of 
the ocean, taxied over to us. As soon as it 
came alongside, a door in the cabin body opened, 
and a tall, dark man appeared in the doorway 
and began to talk to me. He wore very heavy 


110 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


flying clothes, but no helmet. He was a rather 
good looking chap, and although his flying 
clothes made him look somewhat bulky, I got the 
impression that he was slim and lithe and un¬ 
doubtedly very strongly built. His features were 
dark, and his skin had an olive tan. His eyes 
were coal black, and so was his hair. I caught 
one view of him side face, and he had rather an 
aquiline nose. While his features were very 
sharp, there was nothing cruel about their as¬ 
pect. He seemed to be of a studious rather 
than active nature, although he was the boss of 
the pirate machine. 

“He asked me several questions about the 
Mongolfier, what kind of a cargo we carried, 
and then some general questions about the news 
in the United States. After a short coversation 
along these lines he said to me: 

“ ‘You will be alright, Captain, Honolulu re¬ 
ceived your S. O. S. message, and they will be 
sending some rescue craft out here to you pretty 
soon. When you get back there, if they ask you 
about me, you can tell them that I am the same 
fellow that sank the Wilbur Wright and the 
Langley. I don’t want to leave them in doubt 
about that. You know, Captain, I’ve just played 
quite a joke on them. They sent a sqadron of 
airplanes out a few weeks ago to fight me. I 
played around with them for a little while and 
had a lot of fun. I carried it further than I 
had expected to though, and one of them got a 
hit on our machine, but it did not do much 
damage. 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


111 


“ ‘I decided not to play any further, easily 
made my get-away. The damned fools thought 
they had sunk me. Now I am hack on the job, 
and they will never be able to stop me from 
carrying out my plans and desires. I am the 
king of the Pacific airways and I intend to be 
monarch of the entire aerial world before I’m 
through. I am sorry I was compelled to shoot 
down three of their machines, but that could 
not be helped. I am master of the situation and 
intend to dictate my own terms before I retire. 
They cannot successfully fight me and they might 
as well know that fact now as later.’ 

“That was about the gist of his conversation. 
He was anxious that I should get his meaning 
clearly. In fact, he asked me whether I had any 
doubt what he wanted me to tell you. When I 
told him that I understood him thoroughly, he 
started to go into the cabin, but hesitated a 
moment and then said to me: 

“ ‘By the way, Captain, they may ask you 
about my lady passenger when you get to Hono¬ 
lulu. Her name is Miss Mary Ingleton, and she 
is a very old friend of mine, that’s why I asked 
her to accompany me on my little pleasure 
flights. You can tell them that she is very well, 
indeed, and is enjoying herself immensely.’ 

“That was all he said. I started to ask him 
some questions but he went inside his cabin ab¬ 
ruptly. A few minutes later his ship taxied 
away and waited until we had transferred all 
our passengers and crew. As soon as we were 
through, he signalled to us to stand off away 


112 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


from the Montgolfier. There was nothing for 
us to do but to obey this command. Immediately 
afterwards his machine moved over alongside 
the disabled airship, and some of the crew went 
aboard. It was not long before they began to 
pass out some parts of the cargo. As soon as 
they had satisfied themselves they put off about 
a hundred yards and opened fire on the Mont¬ 
golfier, which quickly sank. Without any further 
ceremony the airplane then took off and quickly 
disappeared at terrific speed.’’ 

“Did you see Miss Ingleton at all while the 
pirate was talking to you?” asked Heathcote. 

“No,” replied the captain. 

“Did he say whether he had her aboard or 
not?” 

“No. He did not mention her name except 
in the manner I have told you.” said the cap¬ 
tain. 

“Did you see any other members of the 
crew?” required Heathcote. 

“No,” came the reply, “that’s all I saw, but 
it was more than enough for me.” 


CHAPTER NINETEEN 


From the unfathomed depths where lies the 
mythical locker of Davey Jones, the pirate came 
back to renew his depreciations over the clear 
expanse of the Pacific Ocean. His return was 
more than astonishing, it was cataclysmic. It 
took the world completely by surprise and left it 
aghast, helpless, but still infuriated. 

What manner of man was this who could so 
easily flout the power of organized government 
and laugh at its efforts against him? What 
hidden powers did he possess that made him 
invincible in the struggle with a whole world 
risen in anger against him? 

There was no doubt about the pirate possessing 
some remarkable secret. The unprecedented in¬ 
cidents in his meteoric career of crime amply 
proved this. How could he be dealt with and 
brought within the power of the law? That 
was the problem that had to be solved. It was 
evident that the steps had already been taken 
against him had proven woefully inadequate. 

The new situation resulted in numerous con¬ 
ferences among the various leading government 
officers. It was complicated by the fact that 
most of the squadrons which had been estab- 
113 


114 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


lished on the various Pacific islands to aid in 
hunting down the pirate had been disbanded 
and returned to their bases in the United States 
after Fitzgerald had reported the supposed death 
of the pirate. Now there were but two squad¬ 
rons left in the Pacific waters that were at all 
adequate to cope with the murderer, and these 
lacked sufficient speed to make any impression 
against him. 

It was about this time, however, when the 
problem appeared to be impossible of solution 
that something occured which gave the govern¬ 
ment officers a new line to follow in their action 
against the pirate. It came as the result of 
part of the program adopted at the conference 
held in Washington immediately after the pirate 
had made his first appearance so memorable 
by destroying the airship Langley. At this con¬ 
ference George Cowl, Secretary of the Depart¬ 
ment of Air, had suggested that careful investi¬ 
gation should be made to discover whether any 
aircraft manufacurer had received orders to 
build the machine and also if possible to dis¬ 
cover the mode of transportation to the Pacific. 
This, he thought might help in the task of locat¬ 
ing the pirate’s base. 

The proposal had been adopted, and operatives 
were assigned to running down every avail- 
abl clue, under the command of Captain Charles 
J. Somers, chief of the Secret Service. 

Now after many months of intensive work, 
the first fruits of the investigation became ap¬ 
parent, and Captain Somers was able to render 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


115 


a preliminary report His men had been divided 
into two sections, the first detailed to make 
a thorough canvass of the aircraft manufactur¬ 
ing companies, and the other to trace the move¬ 
ments of the pirate in the Pacific prior to the 
establishment of his base. 

The canvass of the aircraft companies had 
disclosed the fact that about eighteen months 
previous to the advent of the pirate over the 
Pacific Ocean, a series of orders had been placed 
with different manufacturers for airplane parts 
of special design. The specifications of each 
part were included with the order, and in each 
case instructions were given to make delivery to 
a warehouse in San Francisco upon completion. 
By careful reconstruction, based upon these re¬ 
ports, it was found that the parts fitted together 
into a flying boat that corresponded in a gen¬ 
eral way to the descriptions given by those 
officers who had encountered the pirate. 

There was this important point, however, the 
theoretical machine constructed from the details 
thus gathered had several important parts miss¬ 
ing. Also the closest inquiry failed to produce 
any knowledge or information regarding the en¬ 
gine. At that point the investigation came to an 
abrupt halt. An examination of the various parts 
and the specifications merely showed the pirate 
had constructed a cabin airplane of sheet tung¬ 
sten-steel with retractible wings. The wings were 
so arranged that they folded closely up to the 
side of the fuselage, in collapsible style, when 
the machine was not in flight. A locking device 


116 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


kept them rigid in flight. 

Moreover, the most peculiar thing about the 
theoretical machine was the fact that there was 
no apparent provision made for the emplacement 
of the engine or engines which the pirate used 
to give his actual machine its prodigious speed. 
In the trailing edge of the wings, however, there 
were two fairly large circular holes that could 
be used as housings for the propeller shafts. 

The second detail of operatives had picked up 
the trail in San Francisco from the address to 
which the airplane parts had been delivered. 
Weeks of detailed investigation had followed. 
Then by carefully dovetailing together the facts 
obtained, the secret service men were enabled to 
construct the story of the pirate’s movements 
immediately preceding his advent over the Paci¬ 
fic airways. In outline the story was as follows: 

In April, 1952, four men arrived at the ware¬ 
house in San Francisco and took charge of the 
large cases that had been delivered there. A tall, 
slim, dark man, was aparently the leader of the 
party, for it was he who gave all the instruc¬ 
tions for delivering the cases which were ad¬ 
dressed to him under the name of Joseph W. 
Devant. As soon as he had checked up the num¬ 
ber of cases he had them re-labelled, then he told 
the warehousemen to have them shipped as 
freight in his name to Honolulu on the steamship 
Chosen Maru, which sailed the same week. 

Carrying the investigation further, it was dis¬ 
covered that this man Devant and his three 
companions were passengers on the Pacific mail 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


117 


steamship Nippon which # sailed for the East 
from San Francisco on the last Saturday of 
April. They took with them as baggage several 
large cases that were heavily insured. These 
cases were marked with complete instructions 
regarding the manner in which they were to be 
handled, and bore bigger labels upon which was 
inscribed in large letters: “Scientific apparatus. 
Handle with care.” 

Picked up from this point the story showed 
that during the voyage of the Nippon Devant im 
casual conversation with the officers of the ship,, 
had declared that he was on a scientific expedi¬ 
tion that was about .to engage in meteorogical 
investigation in the various Pacific islands. 

Upon arrival in Honolulu the cases from the 
two ships, the Chosen Maru having arrived a 
few days previously, were stored away, and De¬ 
vant went around the port in search of a suit¬ 
able schooner. A few days after his arrival he 
bought the 500 ton schooner Hilo and signed up 
the Kanaka crew that had been aboard her. The 
cases were then placed aboard from the storage 
warehouse, and the .schooner sailed away with 
Devant and his white companions acting as nav¬ 
igators. They did not comply with the port reg¬ 
ulations before leaving, and there was no rec¬ 
ord of their intended destination. 

From this point all traces of the expedition 
vanished. It had already been listed as a total 
loss. The schooner Hilo had not put into any 
known port or island, nor had it been sighted 
by any other craft. 


118 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


Such was the report of Captain Somers, 
which he delivered to Secretary Cowl shortly 
after the pirate had made his dramatic return 
to the Pacific airways. Cowl read it over very 
carefully several times and asked Somers a 
number of questions in connection with it. Then 
after further consideration he said: 

“There is no doubt in my mind that Devant 
is the pirate. Did you get any line on him per¬ 
sonally ?” 

“No”, replied Somers, “The name Devant is 
undoubtedly an alias, but we were unable to get 
any further information about him.” 

“Well,” added Cowl, “your investigation is 
conclusive, to say the least. The cases undoub¬ 
tedly contained his airplane, while the other 
cases then he took with him the Nippon prob¬ 
ably contained the parts for his engines and 
other apparatus he had designed or needed.” 

“That’s my opinion, too,” agreed Somers, 
“We tried to learn something about his an¬ 
cestry, but so far have not met with any suc¬ 
cess. I have told our men in the Pacific to con¬ 
tinue their investigation into the movements of 
the schooner Hilo, in the hope that we might get 
some trace of her. Meanwhile the men in this 
country are following up their investigation by 
making inquiries at the place from which De¬ 
vant sent his orders to the aircraft manufactu¬ 
rers. In this way we hope to get a line on his an¬ 
tecedents I have issued explicit instructions to 
my men not to pass up a single chance, no mat¬ 
ter how unimportant it may seem to them.” 


CHAPTER TWENTY 


In Honolulu the greatest consternation pre¬ 
vailed. The return of the pirate over the air¬ 
ways had completely disrupted the service of its 
airport, which was the most important in the 
whole Pacific Ocean, because of its central loca¬ 
tion. The destruction of the airship Montgolfier 
came at the moment when the confidence of the 
commercial aerial transport companies had just 
been completely restored through the report is¬ 
sued by the government to the effect that the pi¬ 
rate had been killed. 

Now chaos again ruled the air. Every com¬ 
pany had cancelled its schedules, and the only 
transportation to and from the islands was by 
means of the slower mode of travel afforded by 
steamships The government officials were some¬ 
what at a loss how to deal with the unprece¬ 
dented situation. Their chances of bringing the 
pirate to justice were apparently very meagre, 
particularly as there were now fewer govern¬ 
ment aircraft units in and about the islands 
than ever before. 

It began to look as though the only way to 
deal with the marauder lay in the destruction of 
his base. Without a base to operate from the 
119 


120 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


advantage lie enjoyed in the air over all other 
types of aircraft would he destroyed. This view 
had rapidly gained the uppermost support of the 
government authorities and it formed the sub¬ 
ject of an exchange of ideas, by cable, between 
the officials in Washington and Honolulu. After 
considerable discussion it was finally decided to 
commission every available naval craft in Paci¬ 
fic waters to a detailed search of the lesser 
known islands in an effort to discover the point 
from which the pirate operated. 

Commander Fitzgerald was now rapidly con¬ 
valescing in the post hospital. His illness had 
been chiefly due to mental causes developed by 
exposure and worry. The news that Miss Ingle- 
ton was alive and well had been just the tonic 
necessary to set him on the road to recovery. 
But as he was not expected to be in a condition 
to resume his command for a long time to come 
yet the aerial forces of the government assigned 
to the duty of attacking the pirate and policing 
the airways, had been placed in charge of Wing 
Commander Emerson, who had been Fitzgerald's 
chief lieutenant. 

A new plan of attack was adopted and put in¬ 
to operation. It involved using the two squad¬ 
rons of battleplanes at Honolulu solely for police 
duty. These squadrons were instructed to keep 
the airways open as far as possible. It was de¬ 
cided that other squadrons would be dispatched 
to the Pacific to aid in this purpose. They were 
only to give battle to the pirate in case he was 
sighted, but were not to go outside their pre- 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


121 


arranged zone of patrol. The carefully detailed 
plan for searching the pirate out and attacking 
him had been abandoned because it was conceded 
that his superior speed and maneuvrability made 
aggressive tactics impossible. 

In other words the offensive had passed from 
the air to the sea for the time being, so far as 
the government forces were concerned. The na¬ 
val craft under orders of Captain Smith, the 
commandant of the Hawaiian naval district, were 
assigned to the duty of locating the base from 
which the pirate operated. As soon as any of 
the vessels had found this base, their instruc¬ 
tions were to attack it, destroy everything with¬ 
in it connected with the pirates’ enterprise and 
take prisoner any one found upon the island. 

Practically every vessel in the Pacific fleet 
was secretly detailed to this duty—battleships, 
cruisers, light cruisers, destroyers, torpedoboats 
and auxiliary craft. Even submarines were put 
to work. Each division was given a certain sec¬ 
tion of territory to cover and was told to land 
upon and search every unimportant island with¬ 
in it. In addition to this the commanding offi¬ 
cer of each vessel was instructed to make a de¬ 
tailed survey of each island visited and gather 
whatever information of a scientific character 
was obtainable. The latter instructions were, of 
course, apart from the main object of the plan, 
and were issued with the view of obtaining as 
much as possible out of the expedition. 

In such manner was the new machinery for 
hunting down the aerial buccaneer set in motion. 


122 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


The experts in the Navy Department, after care¬ 
fully examining the reports of the pirate’s pre¬ 
vious activities, had calculated that the radius of 
his operations was limited to approximately two 
thousand miles. Taking the general location of 
his attacks upon the airships as a center, they 
had divided the circle within the 2,000 mile ra¬ 
dius into six different zones. These zones by a 
strange coincidence naturally included six groups 
of mid-pacific islands. The naval patrol vessels 
were therefore divided into six divisions, each 
division assigned to a specific group of islands 
as follows: 

Division No. 1.—America Islands. 

Division No. 2. Hawaiian group. 

Division No. 3. Phoenix Islands. 

Division No. 4. Gilbert Islands. 

Division No. 5. Marshall group. 

Division No. 6. The Carolines. 

The task of searching these zones thoroughly 
was commenced immediately with every available 
naval vessel. The forces employed were aug¬ 
mented as rapidly as other war-vessels could be 
rushed to the scene. Then for two weeks the 
six divisions of the naval patrol went about their 
task of searching the innumerable smaller isl¬ 
ands without any concrete result. Suddenly one 
morning the light cruiser Farragut of the second 
division, which was steaming in Latitude 28 and 
the 180th meridian of longitude, sighted an open 
boat with what appeared to be a shirt hoisted 
upon an oar. Captain John B. Moore, comman¬ 
der of the Farragut altered his course in order 


I 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 123 

to pick up the boat. As the cruiser drew closer 
to it he made out the name painted on the stern 
of the small boat, through his glasses. It read: 
“Hilo Honolulu.” 

“Elio,” he mused. “Let’s see, that was the 
name of the schooner that was used by the man 
Levant who was supposed to be the pirate. This 
may be the boat from that missing schooner, and 
if it is, we Lave made a real find.” 

Ten minutes later the cruiser drew up along¬ 
side the small boat. Inside it was the figure of 
a man laying prone along the keel beneath the 
seats. An oar had been fastened to the center 
seat and a shirt was attached to it, evidently to 
act as a sail. A boat was lowered from the 
cruiser. It’s crew rowed over to the drifting 
boat and quickly lifted the man out of it and then 
rowed him back to the cruiser. He was still 
alive but exhausted. After a few hours of med¬ 
ical attention on the cruiser, the man began to 
show signs of returning consciousness. Presently 
he had recovered sufficiently to take an interest 
in his surroundings. 

“Where am I,” he inquired feebly. “What 
ship is this?” 

He was told, and then asked who he was and 
where he came from. 

“Take me to Honolulu as quickly as you can, 
it is very important,” he replied. 

“Are you a survivor of the schooner Hilo that 
sailed from Honolulu with Mr. Devant’s expedi¬ 
tion?” asked the captain. 

“No,” replied the man. 


124 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


“Why do you want to go to Honolulu then?” 

“I am very tired. Please don’t ask me any 
more questions just now.” 

“But why do you want to go to Honolulu? 
Are you in any way connected with the aerial pi¬ 
rate who has been attacking airplanes?” 

“No! but I’ve just come from his base,” re¬ 
plied the stranger weakly. A moment later, 
overcome by the strain, he again lapsed into un¬ 
consciousness. 


CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE 

For three days the cruiser Farragut steamed 
steadily forward until the island of Oahu hove 
in sight. During those three days the constant 
care, coupled with the restful influence of the 
voyage, had proved most beneficial to the stran¬ 
ger who had by now practically recovered from 
the effects of his exposure. The captain of the 
cruiser had refrained from any attempt to ques¬ 
tion the man until he was convinced there was 
no further chance of a relapse. The circumstan¬ 
ces surrounding the man’s rescue, together with 
his statement that he had just come from the 
pirate’s base, were sufficiently important, the 
captain thought, to warrant him in taking the 
man to Honolulu. 

On the morning that the Hawaiian capital was 
practically in sight, the captain decided it was 
time to ascertain the identity of the stranger. 
With this purpose in view he had him brought to 
his cabin, and then asked him who he was. 

“Where are you bound?” parried the man, 
somewhat suspiciously. 

6 ‘We are going to the Pearl Harbor naval sta¬ 
tion,” replied the captain, “in fact we’ll be there 
in a few hours from now.” 

125 


126 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


“That’s fine,” said the stranger, his face 
brightening visibly, “I want to thank you very 
much, captain for your kindness I J 11 tell my sto¬ 
ry to the authorities ashore as soon as we arrive 
there. Have you been looking for the pirate?” 

“I don’t want you to tell me anything you 
don’t wish to,” resumed the captain, “but don’t 
you think you ought to tell me who you are so 
that I can get you to the proper authorities with¬ 
out delay as soon as we arrive?” 

“Why yes, Captain, I’ll tell you,” he replied. 
“My name is Howard Bedmond. I was the sec¬ 
ond officer of the airship Wilbur Wright that 
was destroyed by the pirate.” 

The effect produced by Bedmond’s simple 
statement could not have been more pronounced 
under any circumstances. It took the captain 
and the officers who were present in his cabin 
completely by surprise. 

“Good Heavens, man,” exclaimed Captain 
Moore, “you were reported drowned. How on 
earth did you get to the pirate’s base?” 

“Well, it’s a long story, captain,” replied 
Bedmond, “but it’s a good thing that I did get 
there, because I’ve got information that we pos¬ 
sibly could not have gotten in any other way. 
How much time have you got before you reach 
your anchorage?” 

“I expect to be there in three hours,” said 
the captain. 

‘‘ That will give me time to tell you before you 
go to the bridge,” began Bedmond. “I will tell 
you how I got to the pirate’s base captain, but 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


127 


you must excuse me if I keep part of the story 
for the authorities ashore.’’ 

“Oh, that’s perfectly alright,” said Captain 
Moore, “but quite naturally we are very much 
interested in anything that you feel you can tell 
us. By the way, where is the pirate’s base?” 

“You were not very far from it when you 
picked me up, captain,” replied Redmond. It’s 
on a little island known as Patrocinio which is 
located about 170 East and 28 North. It’s right 
on the end of the Hawaiian archipelago. You 
couldn’t have been more than two hundred miles 
away from it at the time you found me.” 

“Good God! why didn’t you tell me that be¬ 
fore? I could have gone right there and fin¬ 
ished that bird for good,” exclaimed the cap¬ 
tain. He was plainly angry at learning how close 
he had been to the object of his quest without 
knowing it. His anger grew as he rapidly real¬ 
ized the wonderful chance he had missed to ful¬ 
fill his mission. 

“Wait a minute, captain,” cautioned Redmond 
quietly, “it’s a good thing I didn’t tell you, 
otherwise nobody would have known where the 
base was located.” 

“What do you mean?” queried the captain 
sharply. 

“Well, sir, you don’t suppose the pirate, know¬ 
ing what the result of his capture meant, would 
pass up an chance to protect himself, do you?” 
asked Redmond in reply. And without waiting 
for an answer to his question, continued. “No! 
Well he hasn’t. He is engaged in a very risky 


128 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


business and he knows it, and he knows the con¬ 
sequences of his capture. He hasn’t passed a 
single chance up that I know of. That island is 
completely surrounded by a wide field of sub¬ 
merged mines. If you had gone there, captain, 
your ship would have been blown sky high be¬ 
fore you knew it, and then of what good would 
that have been?” 

The latter question was too much for the cap¬ 
tain who simply gasped in his astonishment The 
explanation, however, had completely mollified 
him. 

“I would never have thought of that,” he said 
simply. 

_“No,” continued Redmond, I knew you 

wouldn’t, that’s one of the reasons I didn’t tell 
you. There’s a lot of other reasons that I can’t 
tell you about just now. Well, to get on with 
my story. I’ll tell you how I happened to get 
to his base. When the pirate attacked the Wil¬ 
bur Wright I was on the observation platform 
on top of the envelope. I stayed there watching 
him while our people were transferring the pas¬ 
sengers. I was very much interested in the un¬ 
usual appearance of his machine and was looking 
at it through my glasses. 

“I stayed there too long. 

“When he first came up to us he opened fire 
with his forward gun, and two of his shots went 
right through our envelope. One of them pen¬ 
etrated number four ballonet, releasing the hel¬ 
ium gas, and the other struck the stairway run¬ 
ning between the navigating room and the ob- 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


129 


servation post, carrying part of the stairway 
away. When I started to go down I discov¬ 
ered this. Without trying to climb down the 
wreckage, I went back to the observation post 
and walked along the promenade deck on top of 
the balloon to the passenger elevator shaft. I 
thought it would be easier to walk down the 
stairs around the shaft. I was doomed to disap¬ 
pointment again, because I soon found that the 
shaft had been injured by the second shot. 

“It looked as thought I would have a tough 
time getting down. I went back to the observa¬ 
tion post and started down the accommodation 
stairway there. After considerable difficulty I 
managed to get down over the wreckage. Of 
course this took considerable time because I had 
to go down practically hand over hand. I had to 
do it slowly and carefully, by sense of touch, as 
all the lights inside the ship had gone out. A 
slip would have meant a ninety foot drop inside 
the envelope. 

“By the time I reached the navigating cabin 
all our passengers and crew had left and were 
in the lifeboats. They had pulled away from the 
airship some considerable distance. I saw the 
pirate’s airplane on the surface near one of the 
boats, and presently I saw someone step over 
from the boat to the airplane. I found out later 
that it was Miss Ingleton. 

“In the meantime I was in a pretty bad pre¬ 
dicament. There was not a boat left on the air¬ 
ship, and our lifeboats were too far off for me 
to swim over to them. I didn’t know what to do. 


130 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


I was not certain how long the buoyancy of the 
remaining helium gas would keep the airship 
afloat, and then I remembered that the report 
we had received by wireless had stated the pi¬ 
rate sank the airship Langley after the passen¬ 
gers had left that ship. I was afraid he might 
do the same thing with the Wilbur Wright be¬ 
fore I could find some means of getting off. 

“ While I was still undecided what to do the 
pirate’s airplane began to move away from the 
lifeboats. I watched it a few moments, and then 
saw that it was coming toward the airship. I 
vrent aft to the baggage room and watched 
through one of the small portholes there. The 
airplane came right up alongside the Wilbur 
Wright with its wings folded up. Three men 
got off and came aboard the airship. 

“After a little while I saw two of them re¬ 
turn to the place where the airplane was hold¬ 
ing on and pass some packages out. I immediate¬ 
ly jumped to the conclusion that they were pick¬ 
ing out the valuable parts of our cargo and put¬ 
ting them aboard the airplane. 

“While I was watching this I suddenly heard 
a noise in the baggage room. I was standing 
behind some large trunks and couldn’t be seen 
from the doorway. I looked around the edge of 
one of the trunks and saw one of the men from 
the airplane moving about inside the room. He 
was still attired in his heavy flying suit and 
wore a helmet, with a chamois face mask. His 
goggles were pushed back on his forehead. He 
walked slowly over to where I was standing, 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


131 


looking the baggage over carefully as he came. 

“I did not dare to move. Looking down I saw 
a piece of metal pipe at my feet. I stooped down 
carefully and picked it np for use in case I was 
attacked. Then suddenly an idea occurred to me 
which I thought might give me a chance to get 
( off the ship. I figured out quickly that I was 
doomed to die like a rat in a trap if the pirate 
opened fire and sank the airship after he had 
finished rifling the cargo. I decided that if any¬ 
one was to be lost it should be one of his crew 
instead of me. 

“I waited as patiently as I could, watching for 
my opportunity. The man in the flying suit came 
gradually over to the place where I was stand¬ 
ing. Soon he was passing in front of the trunks 
behind which I was hiding. As he passed on the 
other side I sprang forward and struck him on 
the head with the pipe I held. 

“He went down like a log, without making a 
sound. 

“I didn’t like the job at all, but I eased my 
conscience by arguing with myself that it was a 
case of his life or mine, and that he was a dan¬ 
gerous criminal who had taken part in jeopardiz¬ 
ing the lives of women and children. The deed, 
was done now, and it was no time for idle re¬ 
grets. I set to work and stripped the flying suit,, 
helmet and face mask off him. Fortunately for¬ 
me he was about the same size and build as my¬ 
self. As soon as I had got the clothes off him, I 
put them on myself. I picked up a piece of bag¬ 
gage that I thought contained some valuables. 


132 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


and walked along to the place where the airplane 
was moored. 

“It was now that my supreme test came, be¬ 
cause I knew the slightest false move would be¬ 
tray me. I didn’t know a thing about the pirate’s 
airplane, and it would be an easy thing for them 
to detect me. Fortunately, however, another 
man from the airplane crew was still on board, 
and I found him making his way to the airplane 
just as I came along. I fell in behind him and 
decided to do just what he did. 

“At the door of the cabin of the airplane a 
man was standing. Afterwards I found out that 
he was the actual pirate. He was very impa¬ 
tient, and as we came along he said: 

“ 4 What the devil’s the matter with you, fel¬ 
lows. Do you think I want to stay here all day, 
till the government ships come along? Get inside 
quick.’ 

“The fellow in front of me muttered some 
sour remark, and I did the same in a low tone. 
I really believe the pirate’s impatience saved 
me. He was so anxious to get away that he 
didn’t pay any attention to us. I followed the 
other fellow into the cabin. He went into the 
rear of it and stowed away a piece of cargo that 
he was carrying, and I did the same with my 
piece. Then he sat down on a seat that ran 
lengthwise along the side of the cabin. 

“There was another man sitting on the oppo¬ 
site seat, and alongside him was a woman. I 
looked at her in astonishment, and then it sud¬ 
denly dawned upon me that it was Miss Ingle- 


THE FLYING BUCACNEER 


133 


ton from our ship She was looking very pale 
and somewhat frightened. I didn’t dare move 
or say anything, I just waited and watched. They 
had given her a leather coat to put on, and she 
held a flying helmet in her hands. 

“The pirate had now sat down at the con¬ 
trols, and the fourth man was tinkering about 
with some apparatus that proved to be the power 
plant Before I could take in my surroundings 
more completely, the propellers began to revolve 
and in an incredibly short time we were in the 
air. I looked at the air speed indicator and saw 
that it was registering 250 miles an hour, despite 
the fact that we were climbing. There wasn’t 
a sound from the engine, in fact the only noise 
I could hear was the whirr of the propellers. The 
man next to Miss Ingleton leaned over and said 
something to her. She then put on the helmet 
and mask. 

“I had been wondering why the pirate and his 
crew wore such heavy flying clothes and face 
masks, especially as they were in a cabin plane. 
I soon found out. We were climbing very rap¬ 
idly. I watched the altimeter, and to my aston¬ 
ishment found that forty minutes after we had 
left the surface of the ocean we were at an al¬ 
titude of thirty-five thousand feet. It was bit¬ 
terly cold. I could feel it even through the fly¬ 
ing clothes which were fur lined. The funniest 
thing to me, though, was the fact that we ex¬ 
perienced no difficulty in breathing. We had 
no oxygen apparatus, and yet we were breath¬ 
ing as easily as though we were at sea level, des- 


134 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


pite the rarified air in which we were flying. I 
couldn’t understand it at all. Neither could 1 
understand his reason for flying at such high 
altitudes, unless it was that he had discovered 
a trade wind that aided him in his speed, or that 
he wished to avoid meeting government aircraft. 

“After we had been going for a couple of 
hours, the two men in the cabin in which we 
were sitting got up and walked over to the for¬ 
ward part of the machine. I saw them take up 
some flasks that looked like vacuum bottles. And 
then they began working near the power plant. 

“I seized this opportunity and moved toward 
Miss Ingleton. I put my finger to my mouth to 
caution her not to move or say anything. Then 
leaning close to her I said: 

“ ‘I’m Redmond, the second officer of the 
Wilbur Wright. Don’t give me away. I’ll try 
to take care of you.’ 

“Before she could say anything, I went back 
to my place on the other side and stretched my¬ 
self along the seat, feigning sleep. I thought this 
would be the best thing to do because I might be 
expected to perform some routine duty about the 
ship that I didn’t know anything about. I fig¬ 
ured that if there was something that I should 
be doing, they would try to wake me up and 
tell me to do it, and that would give me an idea 
what it was that I was expected to do. 

“Although I was pretending to be asleep, I 
kept the corners of my eyes open. After a little 
while the two men came back to their seats. As 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


135 


they passed me they both looked at me. One of 
them said. 

“ ‘There’s that lazy devil Harrison asleep 
again. ’ 

“That was a fine ene for me. I now knew 
what my name was supposed to be, and fortun¬ 
ately I was keeping up the reputation of the 
man I had killed. 

“After two more hours of flying I experienced 
the slight sensation that told me we were des¬ 
cending and I figured that we must be coming to 
the pirate’s base. The other two fellows had gone 
to the forward part of the cabin again, and the 
pirate was very busy at his controls. All of the 
other three were looking out of the windows at 
the ground below. 

Very cautiously I edged over a little toward 
Miss Ingleton. As soon as I was near her I 
whispered loud enough for her to hear: 

“ ‘As soon as we land, I’m going to try and 
hide myself somewhere. I want you to keep me 
informed of what is happening and to keep some 
food for me if possible. I’ll come and see you 
whenever I get a chance, if I’m successful in get¬ 
ting away.’ 

“She nodded that she had heard me, and I 
moved back to my orginal position, still pre¬ 
tending to be asleep. It was not many minutes 
before we landed on the water, inside a small 
coral reef that made a natural harbor on the 
eastern side of the island. It could not have 
been better designed for the purpose of the 
pirate. 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


136 


“Ag the airplane came to a stop near a ledge 
of rock one of the men came over and gave me 
a light poke in the ribs with his elbows and 
yelled: ‘Get up you, lazy devil, we’re home. Take 
some of this stuff ashore.’ 

“I was all keyed up for the test that now con¬ 
fronted me. I went over to where the packages 
were stowed, picked up as many as I could car¬ 
ry and leisurely walked ashore with them. One 
of the other men was in front of me with some 
of the packages. I followed him into a crude hut 
that had been erected about a hundred yards in¬ 
shore and there deposited the packages. 

“The other fellow, began to pull off his heavy 
flying clothes and helmet, as they were terribly 
hot in that climate. I was almost fainting with 
the heat myself, but I did not dare take mine off. 
I muttered some excuse about what I wanted to 
do and went out. As soon as I got outside, I 
took a quick glance at my surroundings. The 
island was apparently of volcanic origin and was 
very rocky. I began to walk over as slowly as 
I could in my excited state to a rock that was 
not more than fifty yards away. There was a 
level patch of gravel beach facing the little bay, 
and on this were two buildings, in addition to 
the hut, that had been erected by the pirate and 
nis crew. 

“As soon as I got behind the shelter of the 
rock I paused again to take in my surround¬ 
ings. Some distance to the westward there was 
rough ililly country rising to about five hundred 
feet. I peered around the rock toward the beach 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


137 


and saw the pirate assisting Miss Ingleton 
ashore. Two of the crew were making the air¬ 
plane fast to a ringbolt in the rock. The third 
man I had followed ashore was now returning 
to the airplane in his ordinary clothes. 

“It was an excellent opportunity for me, I 
thought. I hurriedly shed the heavy flying 
clothes and began to run toward the hilly coun¬ 
try, carrying the clothes with me. I thought they 
might come handy if the nights were at all chil¬ 
ly in the higher parts of the island. I continued 
running for some time, glancing back now and 
then to see whether my absence had been no¬ 
ticed. 

“In the rough part of the island I was soon out 
of sight of the beach. Then I slackened down in 
my speed and began to look around for a suit¬ 
able hiding place as temporary quarters until I 
could survey the island thoroughly. I wanted to 
find a place where I could remain safely with¬ 
out detection in case they began to look for me. 

“On the south-eastern side of the island I ran 
into some rather thick tropical growth upon the 
hillside. I penetrated this, and after a short 
walk I found a small depression in the side of 
the hill that was well screened by the vegeta¬ 
tion about it. There were a number of cocoa- 
nut palms in this section and lots of banana 
plants. As soon as I had prepared my hiding 
place I gathered some bananas and ate them rav¬ 
enously. I had not eaten since the airship was 
attacked about six hours before, so I was very 
hungry. After I had finished eating I fixed up 


138 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


my hiding place for the night. 

“A short distance from the place that I had 
selected I found a small spring which trickled 
away into a tiny stream to the sea. It looked 
as though this would be as good a place as any 
I could possibly find on the island. It was well 
sheltered, and there were food and water close 
to it. Only by the closest search could it be lo¬ 
cated. It gave me a great feeling of security, 
and I turned in for a good sleep. 

“That’s the story of how I got to the pirate’s 
base. I certainly was very lucky. Although I was 
missed that night, they didn’t make any search 
.for me until the next day, and then it was not 
a very careful one. I heard them shouting, ‘Oh, 
Harrison, where are you!’, as they looked 
around for a while, but they soon gave it up. 

“I waited a couple of days before I ventured 
out of my hiding place. During that time I 
lived on the fruit around me and the water from 
the spring. On the third day I went out very 
cautiously and gradually worked my way to the 
rock where I had first taken off my flying 
clothes. From that point I made a more careful 
observation of the pirate’s nest along the bay. 
For the first time I noticed the schooner Hilo 
beached in a narrow inlet on the western side 
of the bay. I subsequently found that she had 
been scuttled there. 

“As I looked I saw the pirate and his crew 
at work on the flying boat. They were appar¬ 
ently making some repairs. I was glad to see 
all four of them busy because then I knew that 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


139 


they could not be looking for me. It was then 
that I made a surprising discovery. 

“I told you previously that I had observed 
two buildings along the shore that had been er¬ 
ected by the pirate. Well, one of them resembled 
a long rambling cowshed. While I was watch¬ 
ing this particular day I noticed a peculiar wisp 
of bluish smoke coming out of a chimney at the 
end of the building. This attracted my atten¬ 
tion immediately because I could see no reason 
for a fire in that latitude. While I looked a 
couple of men came out of the building and 
walked down to the airplane. It was the first 
time that I knew the pirate had anyone else on 
the island besides his crew, and I was really 
frightened because it increased the chances of 
my detection, and I knew that others could be 
put to work to look for me. 

66 While I was thinking the situation over I 
saw Miss Ingleton come out of the other house. 
She stood still for a few moments, looking over 
the bay, then she turned around and looked to¬ 
ward the center of the island. I waited for the 
first opportunity and stepping outside the shel¬ 
ter of the rock, I waved my arm, motioning her 
to come to me. She saw me almost immediately, 
and I ducked behind the rock. She turned back 
and looked toward the bay again, and seeing 
that everything was going on as usual, started 
toward me, walking very slowly. 

“I saw she had a book in her hand. As soon 
as she got within hearing I said to her: 

“ ‘Sit down on the other side of the rock 


140 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


where they can see you, Miss Ingleton and pre¬ 
tend you are reading/ 

“She did this. Then I asked her how they 
were treating her. When she answered me I 
could tell she was almost crying by the sound 
of her voice. 

“ ‘Oh!’, she said, ‘I live in constant fear. They 
are treating me alright, but I feel uneasy. This 
pirate is a man I knew in Washington who once 
proposed to me and I refused him. I am really 
afraid of him, although he has acted perfectly 
so far/ 

“ ‘His name is Levanter—Joseph D. Levan¬ 
ter’, she replied. ‘He was an officer in the avia¬ 
tion service in Washington. He left the service 
when I refused to marry him, and we wondered 
where he had gone. When I refused him he 
told me that he had just done something wonder¬ 
ful and that I would regret my action very 
much. At the time I didn’t pay much attention 
to his threat but now it seems that he took me 
off the airship to carry out that threat. I 
didn’t know who he was until we got to this is¬ 
land and he took his helmet off. Then I recog¬ 
nized him and he laughed at me/ 

“ ‘What did he say?’ I asked. 

“ ‘He didn’t say a thing. He just looked at 
me and smiled in a funny way. I asked him what 
he intended to do with me. He said: ‘Do you 
remember the last time we were together and 
what I told you?’ I was so frightened I couldn’t 
look at him. I asked him again what he was go¬ 
ing to do with me. ‘Don’t worry, no one is go- 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 141 

ing to hurt you,’ he said. Then he left me and 
went away to the airplane to do some work.’ 

“I could readily see that the situation was 
very distressing to her, although I could not see 
her because she was sitting on the other side of 
the rock. Therefore I decided to change the to¬ 
pic, especially as I was anxious to find how I 
stood and what the possibilties of any search for 
me might be. I asked her. 

“ ‘When did they find out I was missing?’ 

“ ‘It wasn’t until they got through with their 
work. Then they asked one another if anybody 
had seen Harrison. That’s the name of the man 
you killed on the airship.’ 

“ ‘What did they do then?’ I asked. 

“ ‘One of them said: ‘Oh, that lazy devil has 
gone off somewhere. He’ll come back. The next 
day they went out to look for you, but they 
didn’t seem to be very much concerned. 

“This allayed my fears a great deal. Un¬ 
doubtedly the man Harrison had a very unreli¬ 
able reputation, and it was a good thing for me. 
Later I found out that they would have gotten 
rid of him before, but they were afraid he might 
give their secret away. 

“I discussed the general situation with Miss 
Ingieton, and we made arrangements to meet at 
the rock every day at a certain hour in the morn¬ 
ing whenever possible, so that she could tell me 
what was happening and anything that she 
might overhear. I promised to take care of her 
to the best of my ability. I was on the island 
over two months, and it was during that time 


142 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


that we made plans at our meetings for me to 
get away from the island. During the two 
months I learned everything possible about the 
pirate’s machine and plans with Miss Ingleton’s 
assistance. 

“WJiile he was away on his flights I went over 
and examined the schooner Hilo. It was impos¬ 
sible to use her, as she had been completely 
scuttled. This was done evidently to prevent the 
Kanaka crew from leaving the island. It was 
the Kanakas I had seen working in the long 
building. 

“I did find that the lifeboat of the Hilo could 
be easily patched up and made seaworthy, so I 
made up my mind to try it. I did this while 
the pirate was away on his flights. Miss Ingle- 
ton helped me by secreting tools that she ob¬ 
tained from the toolbox whenever possible. She 
also carried food to the place every time she 
got a chance, so that I would have supplies for 
my voyage. It was in this way that I made ar¬ 
rangements to leave the island and bring the in¬ 
formation I had gathered to the authorities. 

“It took quite a considerable time to repair 
the boat, particuarly as the time I had to work 
on it was very limited. I finally succeeded, 
however and got away in the middle of a night 
about ten days before you picked me up. I hadn’t 
been able to get a compass or any other navigat¬ 
ing instrument, and through the first night I 
steered by the stars alone. After that I steered 
by the Sun, and just let the boat drift during 
the night. I was trying to make Midway Island, 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


143 


figuring that once I got there I could get a 
schooner to take me to Honolulu. I must have 
drifted way off the course during the night be¬ 
cause I had been going for ten days when you 
picked me up. It was lucky when you came along 
when you did because I was about all in. 

“The time I chose to leave the island was 
when I knew the pirate would have to spend 
about a week repairing and overhauling his 
airplane. I was afraid that if by any chance 
they discovered the boat was missing from the 
old schooner-” 

At this moment a quartermaster tapped on 
the captain’s door and entering, said: 

“Mr. Jones’ compliments, sir, we are now off 
the harbor.” 

The interruption cut Eedmond’s narrative 
short as the captain was compelled to go to the 
bridge and give the necessary navigating orders 
to bring his ship into harbor. Half an hour later 
the Farragut was at anchor in Pearl Harbor. 


CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO 


Out of the realm of his recent adventures 
Howard Redmond stepped ashore in Pearl Har¬ 
bor from the captain’s gig of the cruiser Farra- 
gut. With him came Captain Moore who had 
refrained from notifying the officials of Red¬ 
mond’s rescue, fearing that the pirate might 
pick up the wireless message and so become 
aware of the fact that the location of his base 
had been discovered. 

Dramatically inclined, Captain Moore seized 
the opportunity of presenting Redmond to the 
naval authorities in an effort to make it as ef¬ 
fective an affair as possible. He personally led 
the man whom his crew had picked up on the 
Pacific Ocean into the office of Captain Smith, 
the naval commandant ashore. There, assum¬ 
ing a grandiloquent air, he announced in sten¬ 
torian tones: 

“ Captain, here is the man who has just come 
direct from the pirate’s base.” 

Pausing, he watched for several seconds with 
satisfied enjoyment the result produced by his 
announcement. He was just about to proceed 
in the development of the dramatic situation, 
144 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


145 


when Redmond, with graver thoughts on his 
mind, broke in and said: 

“What Captain Moore has told you, sir, is 
true, but before I tell you about it, will you 
please instruct your wireless operator to send 
the signal ‘QVT’ at the end of each sentence 
when he sends out his daily news bulletin, in¬ 
stead of the usual word ‘stop.’ This is very im¬ 
portant, and I shall explain the reason to you 
when I tell you my story.’’ 

Captain Smith, after a few perfunctionary 
questions, issued the necessary instructions to 
the operator in charge of the big wireless sta¬ 
tion at the naval base. He then sent for Com¬ 
modore Heathcote, the commanding air officer 
of the Hawaiian district. When the latter ar¬ 
rived Redmond began his narrative. He told in 
detail again the story he had already related to 
Captain Moore. Then he said: 

“The last time I saw Miss Ingleton I prom¬ 
ised her that if I got away safely to Honolulu 
I would get the naval station to send out the 
‘QVT’ signal, so that she would know that I had 
arrived. That’s the reason I asked you to do it. 
Levanter has a wireless receiving station on the 
island and, knowing that Miss Ingleton has al¬ 
ways been interested in wireless, has permitted 
her to listen in each day in order to help her 
pass the time away. You see, there is no send¬ 
ing station connected with it, and he knew she 
could not send out any message that would en¬ 
danger his security. Therefore as soon as she 


146 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


gets the ‘QVT’ signed she will know that help 
will he coming to her very soon.” 

“If that’s the case,” said Captain Smith, 
“you may rest assured she knows it already be¬ 
cause the news schedule is on right now.” 

“Is there anything you can tell us about the 
machine that Levanter is using?” interspersed 
Commodore Heathcote. 

“I can tell you pretty well everything about 
it,” replied Eedmond. 

“Can you suggest any means to successfully 
attack him?” 

“Well, you can judge for yourself after I have 
described his machine and his base,” continued 
Redmond. “I think it will be best if I tell you 
all about the conditions on the island. It’s part 
of the story that I didn’t tell Captain Moore, 
because I didn’t have time. 

“In the first place I learned everything about 
his remarkable machine from Miss Ingleton and 
my own observation during the short time I was 
on it. Levanter was quite sure of his security 
and felt confident that she could not get away 
from him and with a feeling of pride occasion¬ 
ally told her some of the secrets of the airplane. 
He did this because, at my suggestion, she took 
a great deal of interest in his machine and asked 
him a lot of questions about it. Then she would 
tell me at different times when I met her at the 
rock all that he had told her. 

“Just what he intends to do with Miss Ingle¬ 
ton I don’t know. He has not said a single 
thing to her that would indicate his intentions 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


147 


so far as I know, but she didn’t tell me very 
much regarding her relations with him. He 
takes her with him on his flights every time. He 
has insisted on that, but on the island, from what 
she has told me, he does not attempt to molest 
her, or coerce her in any way. He is in fact 
extremely courteous to her, and she is free to 
move about as she pleases to any part of the 
island. 

“Now, as far as the machine is concerned, it 
is designed in such a manner that it can be 
flowm at extremely high altitudes without any 
dangerous effect upon the crew who are fully 
protected within the cabin. The body is abso¬ 
lutely watertight and is strong enough to with¬ 
stand external or internal pressure to a very 
high degree. In fact the strength of its plates 
affords armor protection against normal attack. 
It is provided with collapsible wings. When 
these are folded up and all the doors secured 
the machine automatically becomes a submarine. 
It has compensating tanks inside that can be 
filled with water to enable it to remain below 
the sea without moving. 

“When leaving the air and plunging into the 
sea it goes under in the same manner as the div¬ 
ing type of submarine, and the tail surfaces act 
as fins, as does also the small projection formed 
by the folded wings. Once beneath the sea, its 
compensating tanks permit it to remain sub¬ 
merged in a stationary position, in the same 
manner as an actual submersible. It is equipped 
with a telescoping periscope that can be ejected 


148 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


from the forward gunpit. 

“The real secret of the machine, however, is 
in the design of the engine. It is used for fly¬ 
ing, surface cruising, or propelling the machine 
under the water. This engine is Levanter’s own 
invention and was built to his special design by 
the men with him, in a secret workshop. He em¬ 
ploys liquid oxygen for fuel, utilizing the expan¬ 
sive force of the liquid gas when it is released 
from its vacuum container. After the gas has 
gone through the engine and has been trans¬ 
formed from a liquid into a gaseous state it is 
then used for breathing purposes in the cabin, 
whenever the machine is at unusually high al¬ 
titudes, or beneath the surface of the sea. This 
explains the reason why we were able to breathe 
without difficulty while flying at an altitude of 
35,000 feet. It also accounts for the manner in 
which the pirate was able to keep beneath the 
surface of the ocean after his fight with Com¬ 
mander Fitzgerald, which Miss Ingle ton de¬ 
scribed to me in a very thrilling manner. 

“The engine is located right inside the cabin, 
near the controls. Its power is transmitted to 
the propellers by means of gears and is applied 
through a clutch. By the movement of a lever 
this clutch can be disengaged, and the power ap¬ 
plied to the marine screw at the end of the cab¬ 
in. The marine screw is used for cruising pur¬ 
poses, either on the water or beneath the sea. 

“Those are the general features of the ma¬ 
chine itself. It is highly efficient in design, and 
particularly so in its power. That is the reason 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


149 


he can get such tremendous speed out of it. Miss 
Ingleton told me he had boasted to her that in 
one test flight over a measured course, running; 
both against the wind and with the wind, the* 
machine had averaged a speed of 350 miles an 
hour. Apparently it is only the strong construc¬ 
tion of the airplane that permits it to withstand 
the tremendous pressure at such a terrific speed.. 
The cabin, being airtight, relieves the crew from 
any ill effects that might result from the rush 
of air at that speed, while the oxygen from the 
engine enables them to breathe normally.’’ 

As Redmond paused a moment in his descrip¬ 
tion, Commodore Heathcote broke in and asked: 

“But how does he get the liquid oxygen for 
his machine?” 

“I was just coming to that,” answered Red¬ 
mond. “Of course, you must understand that 
nearly all of this information I got second hand 
through Miss Ingleton. She obtained it from 
Levanter by asking him questions whenever she 
caught him in a boasting mood. The whole story 
of his career on the island as I got it from her 
is practically this: 

“He came to Honolulu with his machine 
boxed up in parts. There he bought the schooner 
Hilo and shipped its Kanaka crew. Apparently 
he had already chosen Patrocinio Island from 
the map, and the schooner had sailed there. The 
island is about five miles long and approximate¬ 
ly two miles wide. As soon as he arrived he 
made a survey of the island and decided it was 
suitable for his purpose. After he had sailed 


150 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


the schooner inside the coral reef that makes a 
natural breakwater for the harbor he got the 
Kanakas to rig up some tents ashore, and then 
had them carry the packing cases on to the 
beach. When this has been done, he put them 
to work, building the permanent log houses. At 
the first opportunity during night time he and 
his crew ran the Hilo ashore and scuttled her 
there, so the Kanakas could not leave the island. 
They also stove in the lifeboat which I used. 

“While the Kanakas were building the houses, 
Levanter and his crew were assembling their 
airplane. Among the equipment they brought 
with them was a complete distilling apparatus 
designed by Levanter. This was put up in one 
of the houses. By his own process Levanter ob¬ 
tains alcohol from the grass and other vegeta¬ 
tion on the island. He used the alcohol as fuel 
to produce electrical power for the chemical 
process that is necessary for extracting the ox¬ 
ygen and later liquefying it. 

“One of the two big buildings is devoted en¬ 
tirely to this apparatus. In fact it is quite a 
laboratory. The tool and repair plant are also 
located in that house. The other house is used 
for living purposes, and the Kanakas live in the 
hut where we stowed the baggage that he takes 
from the airships he shoots down. 

“His condensing apparatus for the extraction 
and liquefaction of oxygen is very remarkable 
and complete. Miss Ingleton had seen it in 
operation, but she could not describe it to me 
very well. He obtains his oxygen by means of 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


151 


the fractional distillation of liquid air. In this 
connection he has a very remarkable cannon on 
his airplane. Instead of using the ordinary high 
explosive, he utilizes liquid oxygen with pow¬ 
dered charcoal, which gives far greater explo¬ 
sive force. His shells are really vacuum con¬ 
tainers for the liquid gas, and with the aid of 
a very peculiar detonator he breaks down the 
vacuum and fires the charge at the same time. 

“Of course he is very sparing with his am¬ 
munition because he has to make all he needs 
on the island. When he came there he brought 
a considerable amount of metal suitable for the 
manufacture of his vacuum containers, and one 
of the first things that he did was to construct 
a large number of small but highly powerful 
mines that are filled with the liquid gas. These 
have been submerged around the entrance to the 
harbor. 

“From each airship that he attacked, he has 
obtained as much metal as he could get, and 
iwith it has constructed more mines, until now 
he has practically encircled the island with them. 
This leaves him pretty nearly secure from any 
surprise attack on the island by naval vessels. 
The vacuum containers he uses to carry fuel 
for his engine serve their purpose continuously 
and do not have to be renewed. That is pretty 
well all I know about his equipment. 

“He treats the Kanakas very well, and his 
men have trained them to do a great deal of 
the routine work connected with the laboratory. 
They do not know the game Levanter is playing, 


152 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


but think that he is engaged in some great and 
important task, and their child-like vanity is 
tickled at the work he gives them to do. When 
they asked him about the schooner Levanter told 
them it was wrecked in a storm. He told them 
he could get another to take them off the island 
when he had finished his work there. In fact 
he has trained them so well that he leaves them 
on the island when he goes out on his flights, 
without any fear that they will damage any of 
his equipment. He has chosen one of them to 
act as chief and he tells this man just what he 
wants the Kanakas to do while he is away, and 
they do it.” 

As he reached the end of his description, 
Kedmond uttered a sigh of relief and settled 
back in his chair. It was only a momentary 
rest, however, as Captain Smith immediately 
asked: 

“Where does Miss Ingleton live on the is¬ 
land?” 

“In the same house with Levanter and his 
crew,” replied Kedmond, “They have parti¬ 
tioned off a room for her, and Levanter sees 
that she has everything she needs. One of the 
trunks which they took from the Wilbur Wright 
was found to contain feminine apparel, and they 
have turned this over to her, and so far as I 
know she is not in want of anything. One of 
the crew spoke insolently to her once, and Levan¬ 
ter happened to overhear him. A great fight 
followed, Miss Ingleton told me, and the man 
has been very civil to her ever since.” 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


153 


b “Did she ever tell you about her flight at the 
time of the battle with Commander Fitzgerald?” 
inquired Captain Smith. 

Before Redmond could reply, Arthur Ingleton 
arrived at Captain Smith’s office. The latter 
had sent for him, knowing well that the former 
Secretary of the Navy would be interested to 
hear first hand information about his missing 
daughter. Ingleton came in just at the moment 
Redmond was about to answer Captain Smith’s 
question. After mutual introductions, Redmond 
continued: 

“Yes! she did describe that to me. She told 
a very interesting story about her experience. 
She didn’t know the airplane could be turned 
into a submarine and consequently it was a 
very thrilling adventure to her, although it al¬ 
most gave her heart failure. 

“She told me that she was very apprehensive 
the morning Levanter set out. She had been 
on the machine the previous day when Com¬ 
mander Fitzgerald’s squadron appeared and 
opened fire upon Levanter. The latter had told 
her of his intention to go out the next day and 
meet Fitzgerald and fight it out with him. He 
insisted that she accompany him on the flight. 

“ ‘I implored him to let me stay behind on 
the island,’ she told me, but he said to her, ‘You 
don’t want me to leave you behind here un¬ 
protected with these Kanakas, do you? Sup¬ 
pose we didn’t come back! What would you 
do then, alone here with the natives?’ 

“She tried to pursuade him again, she said, 


154 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


but it was in vain. He compelled her to go with 
him. She was very excited and apprehensive, 
particularly when Fitzgerald’s squadron was ob¬ 
served coming out of the northwestern skies. 
As soon as the machines of the squadron were 
close to them, she told me, Levanter came over 
to her and said: 

“ ‘Mary, I want you to go outside the gunpit 
and wave to Fitzgerald.’ 

“ ‘Oh! you can’t be so cruel as that,’ she 
said she replied. 

“You must do as I tell you,” he said with a 
savage glint in his eyes. 

“ ‘There was nothing else but to do what he 
told me,’ she said. 

“According to her story she went out and 
waved to the other airplanes. She did not know 
which was the one Fitzgerald was in, and she 
couldn’t see any signs of a response from any 
of them. After a while Levanter told her to 
come back inside. 

“She did this willingly enough, she said, be¬ 
cause she was very scared. It was not long be¬ 
fore she heard the firing from the other ships. 
There was no sound from the guns on Levan¬ 
ter’s machine. This was because he was using 
liquid oxygen explosive. 

“It was then tliat she experienced the re¬ 
actions which she told me about. I shall try 
to repeat her words as nearly as I can: 

“ ‘My heart was beating terribly,’ she said, 
‘and I was so frightened that I just simply 
shivered on the seat inside the cabin. After 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


155 


a long, long time I felt the machine go into a 
giddy dive, and my heart went into my month. 
I conld bear the suspense no longer. I went to 
the window and looked out. The sea seemed 
to be coming right up to us. It looked as though 
we were falling into it. 

4 4 ‘ After a while the airplane straightened out, 
just when it seemed as though we were about to 
plunge into the sea. The other airplanes were 
coming after us, firing their guns all the time. 
It was really horrible, and I was in perfect 
terror. A little later there was a dull heavy 
sound when one of the shells struck our air¬ 
plane and made it shake violently. As I looked 
horror-stricken through the window our machine 
went right into the sea. 

“ ‘At that moment I experienced the most 
terrible feeling I ever knew. A hundred thoughts 
passed through my mind so quickly I couldn’t 
realize what they were all about. Suddenly 
something told me I was about to die. The 
thought chilled me with horror, and I fell off 
the seat in a dead swoon. 

“ ‘How long I was unconscius I don’t know, 
but when I opened my eyes again the horror of 
it all passed through my mind very rapidly. 
I looked around with fear. I couldn’t see a 
thing. It was inky black dll around me. I 
lifted my hand in front of my eyes but couldn’t 
see it. Then I felt around me to find where I 
was. Suddenly a terrible thought passed through 
my mind and I cried aloud in absolute terror: 

“ ‘Good heavens! I’m blind! where am I? 


156 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


A terrible harsh voice near me replied: 

“ ‘Don’t make a noise, you’re alright. You’re 
not blind. Keep still, and you’ll be alright in 
a few minutes.’ 

“ ‘Where am I! Where am I?’ I cried. 

“ ‘Shut up, will you!’ was all the answer I 
got. 

“ ‘The time that I lay petrified with fear 
seemed like ages. I didn’t know what was the 
matter, and the man who spoke to me had such 
a rough voice that I didn’t dare speak again. 
I was afraid to move or try to get up from 
where I was lying, although it was very painful 
on the hard floor, because I didn’t know but 
what I might fall down in the darkness. 

“ ‘After a long, long time, a faint greenish 
light began to come, wherefrom I couldn’t tell. 
It increased very quickly, and I looked around 
to find that I was still in the cabin of Levanter’s 
airplane. I couldn’t understand it at all. In 
a very short time everything was quite normal 
again, with as much light as we ever had there. 

“ ‘Joe Levanter was sitting at the controls, 
and the other men were at their stations. They 
didn’t look at all concerned. I got up slowly. 
I was aching terribly from the fall and the hard 
floor. How long I had been lying there I don’t 
know, and Levanter never told me. 

“ ‘I walked over painfully to the window and 
looked out. The airplane was on the surface of 
the sea, but I couldn’t see its wings. There 
wasn’t another vessel or airplane in sight. While 
I was looking Levanter said to one of the men: 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


157 


“ ‘Ho outside and see where the shot hit us, 
also how much damage it has done. I think it 
must have hit one of the wings.’ 

“The man opened the cabin door and went 
out. He was gone quite a while. When he 
came back he said: 

“ ‘It hit us on the starboard wing and it has 
buckled one of the plates. You’d better open 
up the wings and see whether they are alright.’ 

“ ‘Levanter pulled a lever, and I saw the 
wings shoot out from the sides of the airplane, 
then 1 heard a loud snapping sound, and they 
became rigid. 

“ ‘The man who made the examination went 
outside again and walked over the right wing. 
He got down on his knees near the end of the 
wing and examined it very carefully. From the 
window I could see a big dent where he was 
stooping down. That must have been where 
the shell struck the wing. After a while the man 
returned inside the cabin and said to Levanter: 

“ ‘It has made a very nasty dent in the plates 
but it hasn’t done any material damage. The 
wing is not seriously injured, and I think it 
will hold up alright!’ There was some more 
conversation, and in a little while Levanter 
opened up the engine and took off. After three 
hours flying we were back at the island again.’ ” 

Redmond paused a moment and looked around, 
then he added: 

“That was about the gist of the story she 
told me.” 


CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE 


Arthur Ingleton with the marks of his recent 
suffering deeply engraven on his face, sat mo¬ 
tionless while Howard Redmond related the 
thrilling experience of his daughter during the 
historic battle in the Pacific skies. It was the 
first concrete information concerning her that 
he had received since she was taken from the 
lifeboat of the Wilbur Wright by the aerial 
pirate. As soon as Redmond finished the dra¬ 
matic narrative Ingleton plied him with in¬ 
numerable questions regarding his daughter’s 
welfare and the conditions generally upon the 
island. Then after a considerable discussion 
along these lines he asked in anxious tones: 

“If we attack Levanter at his base, how can 
my daughter be protected. 

“Well, I’ve thought of that very carefully,” 
replied Redmond, “in fact the question has 
been in my mind ever since I first got on the 
island. It seems to me that the best way she 
can be protected now is for me to return to the 
island and get into communication with her. 
When I left I promised her that I would do my 
best to come back, if I got here safely, and let 
158 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


159 


her know what was going to he done. I can 
get hack there easily enough, I think. I have 
thoroughly explored the island, and know every 
portion of it. My plan is that one of the 
cruisers take me back to the island. The captain 
of the cruiser can arrange to arrive off the is¬ 
land about midnight without any lights huring. 
He can steam to within a mile of the southern 
coast, where there is a little cove, without any 
danger from the submerged mines which do not 
extend so far out on that side of the island. 
Then a boat crew can row me over to the land¬ 
ing place on the shores of the cove. We can 
tow a smaller boat behind us, which can be 
hidden on the beach, so that if it is possible 
Miss Ingleton and I can use it to escape from 
the island. 

“When I get back to the island I propose to 
go to the cave on the southeastern section where 
I lived before. Then at the first opportunity I 
shall go over to our meeting place on the rock 
and tell your daughter of any plans we may 
devise for her rescue. What we have got to do 
now is to agree upon some plan of attack.’’ 

“Are you absolutely sure that Laventer does 
not know that you were on the island?” asked 
Ingleton, “it seems strange to me that he should 
not have taken more active steps to ascertain 
what became of his man Harrison.” 

“Well, he did,” replied Redmond, “but I 
didn’t tell you about it because I wanted to let 
you know the more important details first. As 
a matter of fact after my first conversation with 


160 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


your daughter he did make a very complete 
search of the island. 

“In this search he was assisted by the men 
with him. Fortunately for me, I got word of 
his intentions from Miss Ingleton in advance. 
I cleaned up my place about the cave, so that 
there was no evidence of my presence there. 
Then I picked out one of the thickest trees I 
could find. I climbed up into it and stayed there 
until they had passed through my little grove. 
It was a very trying ordeal, but it was the only 
way that safety lay for me. Believe me I stayed 
there for a considerable time after they had 
departed. I wasn’t taking any chances. 

“I learned afterwards from Miss Ingleton that 
they made a complete and exhaustive search of 
every part of the island. Levanter seemed to 
be very worried that Harrison might have es¬ 
caped from the island and informed the govern¬ 
ment authorities where his base was. He freely 
confessed his fears to your daughter. That was 
why he made such a complete search. 

“There is quite a stretch of sandy beach on 
the western side of the island, and during the 
day after her arrival Miss Ingleton learned that 
Harrison was in the habit of going there to 
take a swim. She found this out from Levanter 
while he was discussing the absence of Harrison 
with his men. At that time they casually re¬ 
marked that he had probably gone there and 
would soon be back again. 

“She told me about it when I met her the 
next day, and consequently I went right over 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


161 


to that side of the island and took Harrison’s 
flying suit that I had worn on the airplane, with 
me. As soon as I found the beach I threw the 
flying suit down carelessly and left it there. I 
figured that if they made a search of the island 
they would find it there and might possibly draw 
the conclusion that Harrison had gone there and 
had been drowned while swimming. It was the 
best chance to explain his disappearance that 
came up, and it practically eliminated the pos¬ 
sibility of Levanter surmising that there was 
a stranger on the island. 

“It was a good thing that I did this because 
that is exactly what happened. They were so 
afraid that Harrison would betray them that 
they made a complete search of the interior of 
the island before they went to the beach. When 
they were unable to locate him anywhere in the 
center of the island they gradually worked their 
way toward the western beach. 

“There they found the fiying clothes which 
they carried back with them to the station. 
Afterwards, in discussing the situation, Miss 
Ingleton heard Levanter advance the opinion 
that Harrison had been drowned. At the time 
of their search, however, they did not take any 
chance on that belief, because as soon as they 
had scoured the island Levanter ordered the 
airplane out, and he and his crew took the air 
to search the waters near the island, on the 
possible chance that Harrison might be escaping 
in a boat of some kind. They thought it strange 


162 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


that he had not left his other clothes about the 
beach. 

“Because of the fact that he had been missing 
for three days by that time they made a search 
for a considerable distance about the ocean in 
every direction from the island, to make sure 
that he was not in a boat. 

“I was convinced that I would be safe 
so long as I was not seen anywhere on the is¬ 
land, and throughout the time I was there I 
was very careful about my movements. I did 
not relax my vigilence at any moment and was 
very careful to cover up every move that I 
made. Even when Levanter was away on his 
flights I was very careful because the Kanakas 
were still on the island, and I did not want them 
to see me. Consequently the work I had to do 
on the lifeboat of the schooner Hilo was ac¬ 
complished under the greatest difficulty because 
I had to keep one eye open for Kanakas all the 
time I was working. 

“I think we can safely dismiss the problem 
of Harrison, as I am sure that Levanter and 
his men are convinced he was drowned. In fact 
I believe they have forgotten all about him by 
this time. I am equally sure that Levanter is 
completely ignorant that I was on the island, 
so we have the advantage over him in that 
respect. It only remains then in my opinion 
to devise a plan to attack upon. 

“Have you got any suggestions to make that 
would help us to attack him?” asked Commo¬ 
dore Heathoote. 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


163 


“Well I haven’t thought much about it.” 
replied Redmond. “Ive told you practically all 
the main facts. I am not very well acquainted 
with the military situation, hut it seems to me 
that you would not stand much chance against 
his machine with your present equipment, and 
personally I don’t think the naval vessels would 
be of any help, if you are considering to use 
them. But, of course, my opinion isn’t worth 
very much, I’ll admit.” 

“We might use naval craft to blockade the 
island and make it untenable by a continuous 
fusilade of fire from all sides,” suggested Cap¬ 
tain Smith. 

“The blockade itself wouldn’t interfere with 
his flying operations,” interposed Commodore 
Heathcote, “and he could bomb the naval ves¬ 
sels. There is no doubt the shelling would annoy 
him, but outside of a direct hit on the supply 
plants, it wouldn’t be of any material value and 
it might endanger Miss Ingleton.” 

“That’s true,” replied Captain Smith, “but 
I believe it would worry him to such an extent 
that he would not be able to carry out his raids 
on commercial airships. He would either have 
to fight us at the island or else move on to a 
new base. Have you any other plan in mind?” 

“Well, yes, a tentative one,” said Heathcote, 
“On second thought I think the naval cordon 
around the island would be a good idea under 
these circumstances. We have now an excellent 
description of Levanter’s airplane and in fact 
practically all the details concerning it. I sug- 


164 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


gest cabling them to Washington and have the 
experts in the construction bureaus of the dif¬ 
ferent departments there devise some weapon 
that we could use to fight his machine. As soon 
as we get this from them we can establish the 
blockade around the island and attack him with 
the new weapon. For instance, what I have in 
mind is this: If he uses liquid gas for his explo¬ 
sives, there must be some chemical weapon that 
would counteract the effect of such explosive 
and which we could use successfully against 
him. ’ ’ 

4 4 Why not place the blockade around the is¬ 
land anyway ?” argued Captain Smith. 

4 4 Well, the thought I had in mind was that 
such a blockade would tip Levanter off that we 
knew the location of his base, and we are not 
actually ready to attack him. Of course, if we 
did establish the blockade he would realize we 
knew where he was located,’’ answered Heath- 
cote, 4 4 It seems to me that we can go ahead and 
make all possible arrangements to meet and 
check his attacks on the commercial lines until 
we are ready to fight him, and then go after 
him properly organized and completely equip¬ 
ped.” 

44 Alright, I understand your point of view,” 
said Captain Smith, 4 4 but nevertheless I am 
still convinced that the blockade would be ex¬ 
tremely useful. Even if we did not attempt to 
shell the island, our very presence would worry 
him and limit the extent of his raids. Moreover 
if he should leave the island we would know it 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


165 


immediately and conld wireless the fact, so that 
our aerial patrols could be on the lookout for 
him and be ready to protect the commercial 
ships. 

4 4 In addition to this I think that Redmond’s 
plans to return to the island could be more 
easily carried out with the assistance of the 
blockade, and the chances of his getting Miss 
Ingleton off the island would be a hundredfold 
better with the navy boats there than otherwise. 

“We could arrange a system of signals with 
Redmond, so that he could keep us informed of 
what was going on as soon as he learned any¬ 
thing through Miss Ingleton. The blockade would 
not interfere in any way with your plans to 
devise more efficient weapons to attack him with. 
It would assist in keeping Levanter on the is¬ 
land. 

“You must not forget that if when we throw 
the blockade around the island, he should decide 
to go to another island and establish a new base, 
it would be impossible for him to take his manu¬ 
facturing and repair plants with him, unless he 
made a number of very long flights to and from 
the new island. If he did this, we could learn of 
it through Redmond and also possibly learn of 
his new destination, and then we could take 
steps to attack him there before he had a chance 
to fortify himself. 

“Personally, however, I think he will stay 
where he is until the very last minute. He will 
not take any chance of moving to a new place 
where we might get him more easily, at least 


166 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


that is my opinion. Such a move would be too 
hazardous and too difficult to accomplish. He 
might fly away and abandon his machine at some 
unknown place, if pressed too closely at Patro- 
cinio. 

“ Taking all these things into consideration, 
I am absolutely of the opinion that the best 
move we can make is to establish an immediate 
blockade around the island. We can take every 
possible measure of defense to protect the naval 
vessels from bombing attacks, which I don’t 
think will be very numerous, judging from Red¬ 
mond’s description of the difficulty he has in ob¬ 
taining metal suitable for the manufacture of 
the bombs. I am willing, however, to put the 
matter up to the authorities in Washington and 
let them decide, although I am equally willing 
to assume the responsibility for ordering the 
move. In any case I think it will be a good 
thing to advise Washington completely of the 
situation.” 

At this moment Ingleton, who had been lis¬ 
tening attentively to the discussion, broke in: 

‘ 4 Whatever you decide, there is one thing I 
want to say. It it this: I cannot stand idly by 
while my daughter is in danger. I am going to 
the island with Redmond when he goes.” 

“But Mr. Ingleton,” objected Redmond, “I 
think that would seriously handicap our chances. 
You don’t know the island or the conditions 
there.” 

“I’ve made up my mind!” stated Ingleton 
firmly. 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 167 


“I appreciate your anxiety and your feel¬ 
ings,” replied Redmond, “and I hope you will 
excuse me for speaking frankly, because it is a 
question of life and death for your daughter. 
You must pardon me, Sir, but you are not as 
active as you used to be, and this is a situation 
that needs vigorous action for success. In ad¬ 
dition the chances of recovering your daughter 
will be greatly lessened if we are discovered, 
and the more of us are on the island the greater 
the danger of our being discovered.” 

“I’ve made up my mind and nothing will 
change it,” declared Ingleton with emphasis. 

“Very well, Sir, if such is the case I must 
accede to your wishes,” said Redmond, “I only 
hope that our mission will be successful.” 


CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR 


For two long, weary weeks Mary Ingleton 
watched upon her island-prison, with a patience 
born of hope, for the news that wonld tell her 
of the safe arrival of Howard Redmond at 
Honolulu. Day after day she sat in the impro¬ 
vised wireless room with the receivers fastened 
to her ears, vainly listening for the code word 
they had agreed upon before his departure— 
the code which meant ultimate freedom for her 
and the longed for return to her parents. 

Her watch for this signal, though weary and 
lonesome, was actuated by her keen desire to 
get back to her mother who was deeply dis¬ 
tressed when Levanter took her off the airship. 
She knew that her mother would be worrying 
over her safety and that worry would materially 
affect her mother’s health. This thought greatly 
depressed Mary and added to her anxiousness 
to get away from the island. 

Mary had little thought that a long captivity 
awaited her when she agreed to leave the airship 
Wilbur Wright at the pirate’s behest; and of 
course, she did not know then that the pirate was 
Joe Levanter, the man she had refused to marry 
in Washington. Many times since then, how- 
168 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


169 


ever, she had pondered over the momentous oc¬ 
casion and regretted the actions she had not 
taken at that time. At the critical moment when 
she was ordered out of the lifeboat by Levanter 
it seemed as though she had done the best thing 
possible under the circumstances for everybody 
on the airship. She did not then know what 
motive actuated the pirate in ordering her to 
go aboard his airplane, and still less did she 
dream that her compliance would mean separa¬ 
tion from her family, and virtual imprisonment 
upon an isolated island for many months. 

Had she known these facts, she mused, she 
would have insisted that her mother be per¬ 
mitted to accompany her, and she felt that 
Levanter would finally have given in to her de¬ 
mands. Many times had she berated her¬ 
self for not having done this. Now, as she 
waited for the agreed signal, all these thoughts 
came back to her mind with greater force to 
add to her dejection. 

Now that Redmond had gone, there came upon 
her for the first time a true realization of the 
seriousness of her situation upon the island 
and of its possibilities. While Redmond had 
been on the island the thought of personal dan¬ 
ger had never occurred to her. She had auto¬ 
matically become* accustomed to looking upon 
him as a protector in case of need. Moreover 
the attitude of Levanter toward her had been 
irreproachable. In a vague way she had oc¬ 
casionally been disturbed by fears as to what 
her captor might do, but as yet nothing had 


170 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


occurred that would indicate what his intentions 
were. She was his prisoner, but he had been 
a most irreprovable jailer both in word and in 
deed. This situation in particular had been 
responsible for the fact that the thought of per¬ 
sonal danger never occurred to her at any time 
during her reflections upon her imprisonment. 

For the first time in her life Mary felt that 
something was lacking in herself. For the first 
time her dominant spirit of independence left 
her. For the first time she experienced the feel¬ 
ing of helplessness. These new and strange 
misgivings came upon her as soon as Redmond 
had started out so bravely upon his mission. 
Within her heart there grew a feeling such as 
she had never known before; a feeling she could 
not define, but yet one which left her ill-content 
and perplexed. 

It was a feeling strangely bound up with Red¬ 
mond, and when in the grip of it she frequently 
surprised herself conjecturing upon his fate. 
Each time her mind reverted to Redmond her 
imagination painted a picture of him in the 
open boat, upon the water’s of the Pacific; a 
picture that seemed to affect her mood and 
bring fears for his safety. Each day this picture 
was re-drawn in colors more vivid and theme 
more ardent and hopeless. Thus did she live 
in each day an eternity of alternate hope and 
despair. Added to this was the constant fear 
that Levanter would make the discovery that the 
Hilo’s lifeboat was missing and guess that a 
stranger had been on his island base. 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


171 


Then with that malice which the Fates seem 
to delight in visiting upon human beings in dis¬ 
tress the cloud of uncertainty that hung over 
Mary was lifted only to bring her face to face 
with despair. Early in the second week after 
Redmond’s departure Levanter came to her and 
for the first time spoke about her presence on 
the island. There was something in his man¬ 
ner and his attitude that sent a thrill of ap¬ 
prehension through her. 

“Mary,” he said, “For what reason do you 
suppose have I brought you here?” 

She looked at him in blank amazement. The 
suddenness and unexpectedness of his question 
look her completely unawares, and she was un¬ 
able to reply. He watched her intently for sev¬ 
eral seconds, then without heeding her silence 
went on: 

“Shortly after you turned me down in Wash¬ 
ington I made up my mind that you would 
marry either me or no one. You little thought 
at that time that you would ever be in this 
position, but I knew then what I could do, and 
I was certain that sooner or later I would get 
you. Of course, I did not know that you would 
make a trip on one of the Pacific airships, in 
fact I had no idea of such a voyage, but that did 
not make any difference, because I would have 
succeeded in getting you eventually. Your trip 
on the Wilbur Wright only hastened matters.” 

“Oh! I would never believe that you could 
stoop to that!” exclaimed Mary passionately. 

“Well of course, you may regard this as a 


172 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


stooping down affair. But I rather think that 
I have risen to the height of a daring oppor¬ 
tunity/ ’ replied Levanter. 

“What do you intend to do with me?” de¬ 
manded Mary, her anger overcoming her fear. 

“I am going to marry you!” he replied. 

“Never! I will never marry you! Never!! 
I would sooner die.” declared Mary with em¬ 
phasis. 

“Don’t he in such a hurry to die. Your life 
means infinitely more to me than your heroic 
death might possibly mean to you.” said Levan¬ 
ter. “Take your time and think it over. Do 
you really think you can oppose my power?” 

“I don’t know what you can do, and I don’t 
care,” exclaimed Mary, stamping her foot in 
emphasis. I will never marry you, never!” 

“Well, never is a long, long time and may 
never come.” he replied, with a sardonic smile, 
“You are a little obstinate just now, but you’ll 
soon see the light.” 

“You are just a brute, and I hate you!” The 
last remark of Mary wrought a sudden change 
in Levanter. 

From the forceful, dominating man who had 
successfully pitted himself against the rest of 
the world, outlawed himself and resisted all 
efforts to subdue him, he changed to the pleading 
attitude of a suitor. 

“Now, Mary, don’t be cruel. I can’t bear to 
think that I am hateful to you. I love you and 
you must be mine! Nothing in the world, not 
even this power that I have and the riches it 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


173 


brings me, can make me forget my passion for 
yon. I would be willing to give it all up on 
the condition!” 

“I wouldn’t have anything to do with you 
under any conditions,” interrupted Mary, “You 
have got me here in your power, but you can’t 
make me do anything willingly. To me you will 
always be repulsive, because I think you are a 
coward at heart.” 

“But surely, Mary, you don’t want me to 
continue this work, do you!” Levanter still 
pleaded. 

“Don’t try to put the responsibility of your 
evil deeds on me,” said Mary angrily. “You 
don’t have to commit these crimes, and you know 
it. Nothing you say will change my mind about 
you, or about your proposal. I won’t have any¬ 
thing to do with you, no matter what you prom¬ 
ised.” 

The steely determination which shone in 
Mary’s eyes stung and hurt him to the point 
of madness. He shook with anger and anguish. 
Suddenly a wave of passion swept through his 
frame. Lunging forward, he violently grasped 
Mary in his arms and pulled her toward him. 
She struggled desparately. 

“You’ll do as I want you to do,” he ex¬ 
claimed savagely. 

In sheer desperation Mary slapped and 
scratched her captor. Their interlocked figures 
swayed and wriggled in the room as Levanter, 
actuated by the unreasoning passion that en- 


174 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


gulfed him, struggled desparately to overpower 
Mary. 

Suddenly in the midst of the struggle, just 
as the strength of Mary was about to give out, 
the door of the room opened, and Walter John¬ 
ston, the chief lieutenant rushed in. He was the 
man who had tried to kiss Mary on the first day 
of her arrival on the island and had received a 
violent blow from Levanter for his pains. He 
had been attracted to the room by the sound 
of the struggle, and rushed to investigate. Tak¬ 
ing the situation in at a glance, he strode over 
and separated the two. 

As Levanter released his hold on Mary he 
turned ferociously upon his aide and aimed a 
terrific blow at the intruder. Johnston, fresh 
and alert, easily avoided the blow and in turn 
planted one on the face of his chief which sent 
the latter sprawling on the floor. 

‘ 6 What’s the idea?” asked Johnston. You 
don’t think you are going to pull anything over 
on me, do you? I’ll tell you right now that don’t 
go with me. What I can’t do, you can’t do, 
chief, and that ought to about settle it.” 

Levanter slowly rose from the flloor. 

“This is my affair, Johnston.” 

“Oh, no, Boss,” replied Johnston smoothly, 
“you’ve got it wrong. It’s my affair, too. We 
sink or swim together, and what’s good enough 
for me, is good enough for you. That’s only 
fair.” 

“What do you mean?” asked Levanter. 

“What I say,” replied Johnston, “you are 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


175 


trying to do something you stopped me from do¬ 
ing, and that don’t go—see!” 

While the two men thus disputed, Mary, with 
her hand over her palpitating heart, stood in the 
corner, panting from her exertions in resisting 
Levanter. Her eyes followed every movement 
of the two men, and she listened keenly to each 
word that passed between them. For upwards of 
half an hour they engaged in a rapid fire of vio¬ 
lent argument, then gradually the heat of the al¬ 
tercation spent itself. As it subsided, Levanter 
said with a smile slowly growing upon his face: 

“Let’s forget it, Johnston. If we quarrel we 
are lost. You don’t understand the situation. 
Miss Ingleton is an old friend of mine, and I 
asked her to marry me. The reason I stopped 
you from molesting her the day she came here 
w^as because I was still waiting for her answer, 
and I hoped to marry her. Now she has refused 
to marry me. So it’s no us quarreling about 
her.” 

“Well, that’s alright, you leave her alone and 
I’ll do the same,” said Johnston. 

Then turning to Mary, he added: 

“You tell me, Miss if he tries to interfere 
with you in any way.” 

To this Mary made no reply, but she exper¬ 
ienced a feeling of great relief. The struggle 
she had just undergone with Levanter had left 
her exhausted and had caused her great alarm, 
although it had awakened in her a lively feeling 
of resentment and determination to fight for 
her safety and honor to the very last. A hun- 


176 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


dred desperate thoughts had been engendered 
in her mind while the altercation between the 
two men was raging. She would plunge into 
the sea as soon as she got out of the room. Then 
came the determination to kill Levanter with the 
first weapon that came to hand, should he at¬ 
tempt to molest her again. Finally she had de¬ 
cided she would destroy Levanter, his crew, and 
herself with one of his liquid bombs. 

Then the altercation between the two men 
came to an end, and its outcome rent the curtain 
of her fears and disclosed the clear path of safe¬ 
ty before her. She realized that the bad blood 
that had been stirred up between Levanter and 
Johnston spelled freedom from danger for her, 
at least for a time, and she determined to be 
wary and never be with either one of them 
alone, or go anywhere where one of them could 
be alone with her. 

She could therefore allay her fears for sev¬ 
eral days at least, allowing for a reasonable time 
to hear from Redmond. Then should such time 
elapse without hearing from him by wireless, 
she would know that he had failed in his attempt 
to get to Honolulu, and then she could think the 
situation over and make whatever plans were 
necessary under those circumstances. Until that 
time she was now determined to compose her 
mind and wait patiently and hopefully. 

By the time these thoughts had revolved them¬ 
selves in her mind she was thoroughly recovered 
from her exertions and emotions. With a rapid 
but cold glance at the two men, Mary turned 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


in 


around and walked out of the room. She went 
into the wireless room. A glance at her watch 
showed her that it was almost time for the news 
schedule of the naval wireless station at Hono¬ 
lulu. 

She sat down at the instrument table and 
picked up the receivers which she carefully ad¬ 
justed to her head. Then, after delicately ad¬ 
justing the apparatus in front of her, she 
picked up a pencil and began to write as the 
news message came in. 

Mechanically she wrote down word by word 
the first item of the despatch, her mind follow¬ 
ing its import just as mechanically. As the sen¬ 
tence terminated her hand had already began to 
write the word “stop” which normally came at 
the end of each item. She had already got the 
first letter of the customary word on the paper 
before her, when suddenly she arrested the 
movement of her hand and listened more in¬ 
tently. In place of the usual “stop” a new sig¬ 
nal was coming. Within her mind she repeated 
it as it came. 

It was composed of three letters “QVT.” 

The full meaning of the signal burst in upon 
her thoughts. Joyously she pulled the receivers 
off her head, flung them on the instrument 
table and with all the fervor of her soul ex¬ 
claimed, “Thank God!” 


CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE 


For several days after she had received the 
welcome wireless signal which informed her of 
Howard Redmond’s safe arrival in Honolulu, 
Mary Ingle ton constantly speculated on the pos¬ 
sibilities of her early escape from her island 
prison. Ever since her terrific struggle with 
the aerial pirate shortly before she received the 
wireless signal she had been greatly perturbed. 
Would Rdmond be able to get assistance quickly 
and come to her rescue before Levanter tried to 
molest her again? Would Johnston keep his 
promise and interfere against his chief, if Le¬ 
vanter should again force his unwelcome atten¬ 
tions upon her; or would Levanter succeed in 
placating his assistant by some arrangement and 
then renew his attentions? These were the 
thoughts which ran successively and repeatedly 
through Mary’s mind and disquieted her great¬ 
ly. Her fears were greatly enhanced by the per¬ 
sistency with which she dwelled upon them, for 
the lack of anything else to do. 

Since the incident with Levanter that was end¬ 
ed by the abrupt appearance of Johnston, she 
had not been molested again. Levanter had re¬ 
mained aloof from her and busied himself with 
178 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


179 


the affairs of his criminal enterprise. The re¬ 
pair work on the airplane that had been started 
just before Redmond’s departure had not yet 
been completed, and Levanter was busy each day 
superintending it. It included a complete over¬ 
haul of both the machine and its engine. 

While dwelling on the problems before her, 
Mary was considerably worried that Levanter 
might at any moment walk over to the place 
where the wreck of the Hilo was lying piled up 
on the beach and there discover that the life¬ 
boat of the schooner was missing. The more she 
thought of this possibility the more worried she 
became, for she felt certain that if the fact that 
the lifeboat was gone should be discovered, Le¬ 
vanter would logically surmise that a stranger 
had been on the island. She was sure that in 
that case the strange disappearance of Harrison 
would again crop up in his mind and arouse his 
suspicions. 

As she turned this problem over in her mind 
Mary tried to think of some way of solving it. 
Suddenly an idea occurred to her. Why not get 
hold of one of Levanter’s chemical bombs at the 
first opportunity, plant it under the Hilo and 
blow the schooner to fragments? This done, 
there would not be any possible chance of the 
pirate’s discovering the disappearance of the 
lifeboat, and all fears on that score would be 
eliminated. 

No sooner had the idea occurred to her than 
Mary began revolving in her mind a possible 
way of putting it into effect. In the first place 


180 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


she did not know just how the bombs were oper¬ 
ated. All she knew about them was what Le¬ 
vanter had told her in a casual way at different 
times. She knew that they were filled with liquid 
gas and that there was a special detonating ar¬ 
rangement that broke down the vaccuum of the 
container and released the gas so rapidly that 
it emerged with terrific explosive force. How 
this detonating device worked she did not know. 

She fully realized that it would be extremely 
difficult to obtain one of the bombs and very 
dangerous to place it underneath the Hilo in 
such manner as to ensure the destruction of the 
schooner. Before she could attempt this, there¬ 
fore, she had to find out how to handle the 
bombs, also if there was any way in which they 
could be exploded by a time arrangement, so as 
to enable here to get away to safety before the 
bomb exploded after she had placed it under the 
Hilo. 

Having recognized these facts, she decided, 
after further thought on the matter, that the on¬ 
ly way to obtain the necessary information 
would be from Levanter himself. In order to do 
so, she realized that she would have to get on 
speaking terms with him again. This was ex¬ 
tremely repugnant to her, but she decided that 
it could not be avoided under the circumstances. 
Therefore she made up her mind to submerge 
her own feelings in order to achieve the pur¬ 
pose she had in view, which was very vital to 
her safety and indispensable for her escape from 
the island. She relied upon the quick return of 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


181 


Howard Bedmond to counteract any advances 
that Levanter might make after she had re¬ 
sumed speaking relations with him. 

Now that she had made this decision Mary 
waited until Levanter was in a good humor and 
not pre-occupied with the repair work on his 
airplane. At the first available opportunity she 
approached him and said: 

“I have been thinking things over, and it 
seems to me that it is very silly for us to be sul¬ 
ky. I am perfectly willing to be friendly witL 
you, if you will not try to interfere with me? 
again as you did the other day. Why can’t you 
promise me to act like a man and put an end to 
this ridiculous situation?” 

“What’s the idea?” asked Levanter in re¬ 
ply, “I thought you said you hated me.” 

“Well, you must admit that was your own 
fault,” replied Mary. “After thinking it over I 
don’t believe that you were really responsible 
for your actions then, so I am willing to forgive 
you, if you will only promise not to do anything 
like that again.” 

“I don’t quite understand you,” said Levan¬ 
ter suspiciously. “There must be some reason 
for the sudden change in your attitude now. 
What is it?” 

“Well, I am very lonesome here, and it is very 
unpleasant not to be able to talk to anyone.” 

Levanter began to thaw with this explanation* 
and he actually smiled. 

Did she really mean what she said? 

“Well, I think you are right to a certain point. 


182 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


I am glad that you are at last beginning to real¬ 
ize that there is no escape from fate. That makes 
things much simpler for ns. I don’t see though 
why I should promise you anything. I can say 
this however. I may be blamed for my actions, 
but I don’t have to defend any motives. I love 
you, I have always loved you, and I believe I 
shall always love you.” 

“Well, I accept your apology,” said Mary. 
“But why can’t you forget what you have just 
said? You know I don’t love you. I have said 
that often enough for you to realize it. I have 
always been determined to marry no one but the 
man I love. I don’t intend to marry anyone. Let 
us agree to bury the hatchet, forget all these 
things and live amicably, since I must stay on 
the island. But tell me, what are your intentions 
toward me. Surely you are not going to keep 
me here all my life. Surely, you don’t intend to 
live here yourself, do you?” 

“I don’t know yet,” replied Levanter. “I 
haven’t made up my mind what I am going to 
do. Why do you ask that?” 

“Oh, I was just wondering what you intend 
to do. It explains my reason for wanting to be 
on speaking terms with you again. I didn’t think 
that you would live here forever. I felt sure that 
some time you would quit this island, and of 
course I didn’t expect you to be so cruel as to 
leave me here after you left. I was sure that 
when you did leave, you would find some way to 
let me get back to my parents.” 

“You can go back to them immediately if you 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


183 


promise to marry me,” declared Levanter. 

6 6 Now, there you are again, returning to that 
forbidden subject,” replied Mary. “Why can’t 
you agree to forget that. You know what my 
answer is now.” 

Suddenly, as she reached this stage in the 
conversation, an opening occurred to Mary. She 
would dissemble her real feelings and hold out 
a hope to the man she despised and hated. In¬ 
tuitively she felt certain that he would imme¬ 
diately jump at the possibility offered indirectly 
to him and promise not to interfere with her 
again while she was on the island. Then hav¬ 
ing obtained this promise, she could go about 
her task of destroying the Hilo and lay such 
other plans to assist Howard Redmond when he 
returned, as were possible under whatever cir¬ 
cumstances might develop. These thoughts 
flashed quickly through her mind as she was 
talking, and with only a slight pause to go over 
them again and make sure of herself, she con¬ 
tinued : 

“Of course, whether my answer will always be 
‘No’, I cannot say at the present, but you will 
not get me to change my mind if you keep on 
forcing your attentions upon me, that is cer¬ 
tain.” 

Mary had angled well and caught her victim 
on the well prepared hook. Like a fish Levan¬ 
ter rose to the bait and grasped it. The hope 
contained in Mary’s simple statement arose be¬ 
fore Levanter with all its possibilities. 

“I think you are right,” he replied slowly. 


184 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


4 4 What I did the other day was done in the heat 
of passion, and I was not really responsible. I 
am very sorry and I hope you will forgive me.” 

As he said this Levanter extended his hand 
toward Mary. She grasped it and shook hands 
with him on the compact. She did it with an ap¬ 
parent show of sincerety, but in her heart there 
was the bitterest of feelings. She despised her¬ 
self for doing it, and she still more despised the 
man whose hand she shook. She consoled her¬ 
self, however, with the thought that what she 
had done was necessary to her own safety and 
freedom, and that the treachery of the man who 
held her in his power could only be overcome by 
stratagem on her part, much as she disliked to 
employ it. 

Following the conclusion of the compact, the 
two continued to converse generally until Levan¬ 
ter was called away by the men working on the 
airplane. Mary felt that it would be extremely 
unwise to question the sky pirate on any matter 
concerning his enterprise so shortly after the 
reconciliation with him. It would be much bet¬ 
ter to wait a few days she thought and be ex¬ 
tremely friendly with him until he was complete¬ 
ly disarmed regarding her intentions before she 
asked him any questions. Otherwise, she argued 
with herself, he might guess the reason for such 
pertinent questions and know that she had ap¬ 
proached him solely to get the information 
wanted. 

And so several days passed by without further 
incident of any kind. Each day Mary made it a 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


185 


point to chat with her captor on some trivial 
subjects, in order to get him completely off his 
guard. Meanwhile she had been thinking over 
the details of her plan. She knew that as long as 
Levanter was busy with the repair work on his 
airplane there was very little chance that he 
would go over to that part of the harbor where 
the Hilo was lying beached. 

As soon as the repair work was completed, 
however, there was every possibility that he 
might go over there and discover that the life¬ 
boat was missing. Consequently there was no 
time to be lost in completing her arrangements. 

If she were successful in the task of destroying 
the Hilo she could take similar steps against the 
remarkable airplane of Levanter. If she could 
only shatter one of its wings, or damage its hull, 
it would be impossible for the sky pirate to take 
the air again for several months, while there 
was the possibility that the machine might be 
completely wrecked. Even if it were only slight¬ 
ly damaged it would give Redmond sufficient 
time to organize any help that he might need in 
getting back to the island and rescuing her. 

No sooner had this thought occurred to her 
than Mary began to debate in her mind whether 
it would not be better to go right out and blow 
up the airplane instead of the schoner Hilo. If 
the airplane were destroyed, she argued, it 
would not make any difference whether Levan¬ 
ter discovered that the Hilo’s boat was missing 
or not, because he could not leave the island 
anyhow. If she succeeded in doing this com- 


186 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


pletely it would be a very important thing, and 
she might be able to do it without attracting sus¬ 
picion if she went about it carefully. In fact, 
she continued in her mental argument, Levanter 
might think that the explosion had been caused 
by a bomb left on the airplane. 

Should she try to blow up the airplane or the 
Hilo? That was now the all important question 
in her mind. If she made her attempt on the 
airplane and failed she might not get another 
chance, and there was a very great possibility of 
failure until she had learned how to handle the 
bombs properly. In the event of failure through 
premature explosion, or any other similar cause, 
both Levanter and his crew would be extremely 
careful with the remaining bombs, particularly 
as to where they left them, and her chances of 
getting another would be eliminated. 

On the other hand if she made the attempt on 
the schooner Hilo and it was unsuccessful, she 
felt certain that Levanter would attribute the 
explosion to the washing up of one of his mines 
ashore, and then she would have another chance 
to try again. Besides, she would learn something 
from her failure if she did fail. If her attempt 
was successful, Levanter and his men might still 
think that the explosion was from one of the 
mines washed up from the sea. In that case she 
would have sufficient knowledge in the use of the 
mines to make the attempt on the airplane at the 
earliest possible moment. 

About a week after Mary had made her recon¬ 
ciliation with Levanter the opportunity she had 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


187 


been looking for arrived. She was conversing 
with her captor, and he was in an exceptionally 
good humor While she was talking with him, 
Johnston came over and said: 

“Say, Boss, we’ve used up all our supply of 
metal, we’ll have to get some more somewhere 
for the extra vacuum containers.” 

After the two men had discussed this for a 
little while Johnston left and went over to the 
workshop. As Levanter turned back to her 
Mary asked: 

“Aren’t you afraid that one of the bombs 
might wash up from the sea and explode?” 

“Oh, no,” he replied. “There wouldn’t be any 
danger unless they were thrown violently against 
some object. They have a contact detonator, 
and as long as the detonator didn’t touch any¬ 
thing they would be harmless.” 

“Well, I’m glad to hear that,” replied Mary, 
“because I was a little alarmed over it.” 

“You needn’t be, there’s no danger,” declared 
Levanter. 

“Well, you know that’s stupid of me,” said 
Mary, “I always thought that bombs and ex¬ 
plosive things went off with some kind of a 
fuse, some kind of timing arrangement, if you 
get what I mean.” 

“They can be made to explode that way,” re¬ 
plied Levanter, “but my bombs are not con¬ 
structed to explode with time fuses, although 
they could be set to go off at any pre-determined 
time. Only the shells we use in the guns have 
the timing arrangement.” 


188 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


“How interesting, but of course I am very ig¬ 
norant of those terrible things. I thought they 
all went oft by time.” 

“Oh, no. Of course, I am very proud of those 
bombs because they are my own invention,” con¬ 
tinued Levanter. “The bombs are put in the sea 
for protection against any fool government war 
vessels that might come snooping around. A 
time fuse wouldn’t be of any use for that pur¬ 
pose, because we don’t know when they might 
come along. If they do come here they will hit 
one of those mines we’ve got laid around the isl¬ 
and and explode it. That would be the end of 
the snooper.” 

“But that’s terrible!” exclaimed Mary, her 
horror at the thought momentarily overcoming 
her effort to dissemble her real feelings. “That’s 
downright murder!” 

“Oh, don’t worry Mary,” replied Levanter 
soothingly. “We don’t expect any of them ar¬ 
ound here. It’s only a precautionary measure 
I was compelled to take to protect us here. Even 
if they did come and strike one of the mines we 
could rescue the crew and make them prisoners. 
You see we could then use them as hostages, and 
they wouldn’t be able to go back and disclose 
my secret place.” 

“But how would you be able to control such a 
large number of men?” persisted Mary. 

“Well, if such a thing were to happen we 
would find some means of doing it, but we don’t 
expect such a thing. Anyway, Mary, you know 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


189 


it can be stopped any time you say the word,” 
said Levanter looking at her significantly. 

“Oh, please, please don’t. You promised not 
to talk about that, can’t you keep your word?” 
entreated Mary. 

“Alright, let’s forget it. I don’t see how this 
conversation started. I’m so confounded proud 
of these bombs that I suppose I went too far in 
talking about them. It can’t be very interesting 
to you.” 

“I realize that you must be proud of them,” 
agreed Mary, “and really I am very much in¬ 
terested in them, although it’s too deep for me 
to understand, but I should like to see how you 
make them. I have never been inside your work¬ 
shop, and it would help me to pass the time 
away. ’ ’ 

“That’s alright,” said Levanter, “you can 
come in any time.” 

After a further brief conversation he offered 
to take her over the shop right away. She readi¬ 
ly assented because she was impatient to get her 
task completed, especially as the repair work on 
the airplane was almost done. 

They strolled over to the house where the en¬ 
tire mechanical plant of Levanter was installed. 
He showed her the distilling plant with which he 
made his alcoholic fuel. Then he led her into 
the room where the liquid oxygen was produced 
that gave him the energy to fly his airplane. He 
explained it all to Mary, and she listened care¬ 
fully, although somewhat impatiently. 


190 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


Next he took her into the room where the va¬ 
cuum containers for the liquid gas were made. 
There were two types of containers, one to carry 
the fuel for the airplane, and the other for use 
as bombs. In the former there was a remark¬ 
able siphon arrangement that permitted the 
liquid gas to flow freely into the engine, where 
its expansion was allowed to take place in such 
manner that the energy spent by the gas in ex¬ 
panding from the liquid to the gaseous state was 
fully utilized in the propulsion of the airplane. 

The second type of container was equipped 
with a vacuum cap that included the detonator, 
thus making the whole thing a very ingenious 
bomb when filled with the liquid gas. Levanter 
explained to Mary that a little charcoal was in¬ 
cluded in the container, as it added to the ex¬ 
plosive force of the liquid gas. 

After expressing her unqualified admiration 
at the ingeniousness of their construction, Mary 
questioned her captor as closely as she dared re¬ 
garding the details of the bombs. She was anx¬ 
ious to learn as much as possible about them 
without appearing to be over-curious, or arous¬ 
ing the suspicion of Levanter. At the time he 
showed her around his plant there were none of 
the shells used in his cannon under construction 
but only the bombs which were used to form a 
protective belt around the island. Picking one 
up, Levanter explained it to her in detail. He 
showed her where the liquid gas was placed and 
how it was put it. Next he showed her the me¬ 
chanism of the detonator and explained its ope- 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


191 


ration. It was extremely fortunate for Mary 
that this was the only type under construction, 
as it suited her purpose admirably, if she could 
but get possession of one of them. 

While Levanter was showing her over the 
plant she had carefully noted every detail of 
each room, the position of the doors, and the 
way in which they swung open. She observed 
the position of the fixtures in each room and the 
position of the clear spaces. She had made a 
complete mental picture of the place, sufficient, 
she thought, to enable her at any time to enter 
and find her way without difficulty and without 
stumbling into anything in case it were neces¬ 
sary to go there at night. In fact she had noted 
the place with such extreme care that she had 
paid but little attention to Levanter while he 
was describing many of the things to her, until 
she arrived in the bomb construction room. 
There she gave her undivided attention to him, 
because of her desire to learn just how to handle 
the dangerous things. 

Immediately after Levanter had finished his 
description, Mary turned to him with an as¬ 
sumed air of ignorant simplicity and asked: 

“I don’t see how you dare carry those dread¬ 
ful things around if they are arranged to explode 
on contact. Aren’t you afraid that you might 
press one of those contacts while you are car¬ 
rying them?” 

“There’s no danger of that,” replied Levan¬ 
ter laughing. “You see this little gadget here 
on the side,” he asked pointing to a small switch 


192 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


button, “well, when that is pushed over this way 
it locks the contact studs, and they cannot be 
pressed inward. That button is really a safety 
lock. When it’s in this position the studs can’t 
be pressed in, and therefore the bomb cannot be 
exploded. That makes it absolutely safe to car¬ 
ry around. When we are planting these mines 
in the sea we have the safety button on, and take 
it off just as we lower the mine into the sea.” 

“That’s just what I didn’t understand,” said 
Mary. “What stops the mines from being 
washed ashore?” 

“We anchor them with a weight. You see, 
we haven’t got any real anchors, because we 
haven’t got any metal to spare, but we get a 
great big heavy rock and tie the mine to it and 
then drop it overboard.” 

“But aren’t you afraid that two of the mines 
will hit each other? They must sway about in 
the water.” 

“Well, naturally the movement of the water 
does that,” replied Levanter, “and the tides also 
move them, but we know the length of the rope 
we use, and we make allowances for that. You 
see, we plant them so far apart that no matter 
in what direction they move in, they cannot hit 
one another. Then we make the whole field wide 
enough so that a ship trying to come to the isl¬ 
and would be bound to hit one of them.” 

“How interesting,” said Mary, carefully con¬ 
cealing the horror she felt at the diabolical plan 
unfolded by the man. 

“Yes,” answered the pirate, “we are going to 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


193 


plant a few more of these tomorrow. We are 
going out in the airplane and will cruise there 
on the surface. Would you like to come along 
with us, and see how we do it?” 

“Yes, indeed,” said Mary. 


CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX 


Over in Honolulu Howard Redmond had grad¬ 
ually become aware of a feeling, more important 
but not nearly as thrilling as his adventure on 
the sky pirate’s remarkable airplane. It was a 
feeling destined to change the entire course of 
his life. It came during the period of impatient 
waiting while trying to overcome red tape and 
get official action that would help him to return 
to Patrocinio Island, and when it became part 
and parcel of his consciousness he realized that 
a mighty change had taken place in his whole be¬ 
ing. 

For the past three months he had led a life of 
such intense action and adventure, that he had 
had no time for aught else. The delays he had 
experienced in Honolulu had caused him to con¬ 
centrate his thoughts upon Mary Ingleton who 
was languishing in the power of the pirate Le¬ 
vanter upon an island far removed from civili¬ 
zation, and had intensified his desire to rescue 
her at all hazards. While dwelling upon this 
problem the conviction suddenly came over him 
that his desire to rescue her was not prompted 
by the mere sense of chivalry in aiding a woman 
in distress, but that his feelings toward Mary 
194 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


195 


were entirely above that. For several days he 
was in a daze, trying to define these feelings. He 
turned all the forces of his mind upon his prob¬ 
lem in an effort to analyze it, but failed; then in 
the very moment of failure a new intuitive 
power he had suddenly gained spread before him 
the cause of his new sensation. He was in love! 
In love with Mary Ingleton! 

This sudden realization had a profound effect 
upon Redmond. He was in all respects a typical 
man of the air. Women had always played a na¬ 
tural but quite incidental part in his existence. 
They were a necessary part of his life and sur¬ 
roundings insofar as all human association is 
necessary. His whole attention had always been 
concentrated upon the details, both technical and 
practical, of his chosen profession. He was a 
stolid individual, naturally shy and bashful in 
the presence of the other sex. There was not 
the slightest thing in his make-up that would 
suggest the “ladies man”, in fact he was the 
very antithesis to all that is implied by the com¬ 
prehensive phrase. 

His relationship with Mary Ingleton had been 
thrust upon him by the force of circumstances, 
and his attitude toward her had always been ex¬ 
tremely diffident. He had made his perilous, 
voyage on the Pacific in the small open boat as; 
a matter of duty. His anxiety to return and as¬ 
sist her had at first been governed by the same 
feeling, but the delay in getting started had rap¬ 
idly developed the change that her entry into his; 
life had caused. 


196 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


Now for the first time in his life he exper¬ 
ienced the pangs and pleasures of the feeling 
which he defined as love. It tempered his im¬ 
patience with tenderness while all the time grow¬ 
ing in intensity. It enthroned within his heart 
the picture of the girl he was anxious to succor 
and cast about her the halo of purity and charm. 

While he was still kicking his heels in the of¬ 
fice of Captain Smith, the naval commandant, 
waiting for the official action which would send 
him back as fast as a cruiser could carry him to 
the woman whose influence had worked such a 
wondrous change within him, in strolled Ken¬ 
neth Fitzgerald, who was just convalescing from 
the effects of the battle with the pirate and the 
violent emotions which he experienced during the 
period of the battle. It was his first day out of 
the hospital. He had been informed of the ar¬ 
rival of Kedmond in Honolulu and of the man¬ 
ner in which the officer of the airship Wilbur 
Wright had been picked up at sea. He had also 
been told in substance the story Redmond had 
brought back from Levanter’s base. 

As Fitzgerald entered the room, still feeble 
from the effects of his lengthy illness, Captain 
Smith looked up and walked over to greet the 
air commander After a brief conversation he 
turned to Redmond and said: 

“Redmond, I want you to meet Wing Com¬ 
mander Fitzgerald. He is the man who com¬ 
manded our air forces in the fight with Levan¬ 
ter” 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 197 

Then with a smile and knowing wink he added 
innocently enough: 

“And I can whisper to you confidentially that 
he is madly in love with the young lady you are 
anxious to rescue.” 

It was then that jealousy laid its hitter grip 
upon Howard Redmond for the first time in his 
eventful life. He grasped the hand that Fitz¬ 
gerald extended to him with such force that the 
latter winced with pain. 

“Good Lord!” he exclaimed weakly though 
smilingly, “you nearly broke my hand,” then 
with an apologetic air he continued: “I’m still 
pretty sick you know.” 

It was several seconds before Redmond dared 
trust himself to speak. During that brief period 
his mind was consumed with many bitter 
thoughts. He knew that Fitzgerald had known 
Mary for a long time, that they had been passen¬ 
gers together on the ill-fated Wilbur Wright, 
and Mary had often spoken of him on the island. 
Now he had been told by Captain Smith that 
Fitzgerald loved her. Apparently it was an 
open secret and therefore Mary must know it 
too. 

Did Mary love Fitzgerald? That was the ques¬ 
tion with which jealousy now tortured him. As 
the thought entered his mind with the full force 
of its possibilities he looked into the eyes of his 
unwitting rival and then remembered what Fitz¬ 
gerald had just said: 

“Excuse me,” he replied, “I was so busy 


198 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


thinking of getting back to assist Miss Ingleton 
that I didn’t realize what I was doing.” 

As he spoke a momentary flush of red tinged 
Bedmond’s tanned and weather-beaten face. The 
suffusion was caused by his natural ingrained 
honesty which rebelled at the untruth he was 
uttering. It was the first time in his life he had 
ever dissembled his real feelings, and the novel¬ 
ty caused him to blush with shame. 

All this was unnoticed by Fitzgerald, who re¬ 
plied easily enough, “Oh, that’s alright. I know 
how you feel. My God, I feel worse. I’m dying 
to go with you, but the doctors here won’t let 
me. I’m not only anxious to help Mary, but I 
have a great score to settle with Levanter, and 
by God I intend to make him pay in full.” 

“It’s just as well you can’t go,” said Bed- 
mond, “because it would only add to our diffi¬ 
culties. I know the island thoroughly, and it 
would be much better if I went alone. I’ve been 
trying to convince Mr. Ingleton of this, but he 
will not listen to me, so I’ve got to take him 
along. It will seriously handicap me.” 

Bedmond had scarcely finished talking when 
the door opened and Arthur Ingleton entered. 

“That’s funny,” said Fitzgerald to the new¬ 
comer, “we’ve just been talking about you.” 

“I hope it was nothing bad,” replied Ingleton 
laughingly. Then, before he could say anything 
further, Captain Smith, who had been talking 
over the telephone, came over and said: 

“I’ve got some good news for you, gentlemen. 
I just got word from the cable operator that he 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


199 


had received a message from Washington auth¬ 
orizing me to send the cruiser Farragut to Pat- 
rocinio Island and take both of you there.” 

4 ‘Have they worked out a plan? asked Bed- 
mond eagerly. “Yes, the message outlines the 
plan of action. Captain Moore has been chosen 
because he is familiar with the waters around 
the island. He is to take you there and arrange 
to arrive oft the island at sundown, then row 
you ashore and land you on the beach Bedmond 
has described. Captain Moore is to come within 
sight of the cove at a certain time each night 
that you and he will arrange. Then if you have 
any information to give him, Bedmond can send 
it by means of a small portable reflected wave 
wireless set he will give you. If it is important 
enough Captain Moore will send it to us by wire¬ 
less, using the special naval code. All the de¬ 
tails you can arrange with him.” 

“You are not going to put a blockade around 
the island then, Captain?” inquired Bedmond. 

“No,” replied Captain Smith, “it has been de¬ 
cided best not to do this until everything is in 
readiness to attack the pirate with every possi¬ 
bility of success. What do you propose to do 
after you get on the island?” 

“Well,” said Bedmond, “I think it would be 
best to get Miss Ingleton away from it the first 
possible chance we have. I think that I ought 
to have a boat left at the cove were we land. 
There is plenty of opportunity to hide it there 
in the vegetation, and the crew of the cruiser 
can help us to drag it ashore. If the cruiser is 


200 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


going to remain within steaming distance all the 
time, I would suggest that a light boat be left 
with us, one that we could readily carry and 
launch.’’ 

“Oh, certainly,” said Captain Smith, “every¬ 
thing possible will be done to assist you. Cap¬ 
tain Moore will be given instructions to give you 
anything you need, and give you every possible 
assistance that he can. I would suggest that you 
confer with him and arrange all your details to¬ 
gether. By the way, if you are successful in get¬ 
ting Miss Ingleton off the island would you be 
willing to remain there afterwards and give us 
whatever information you could gather about the 
pirate, until we have captured him?” 

“Wihy, I would be delighted to do that,” Red- 
mond answered, “first efforts, however, will be 
directed toward getting Miss Ingleton away from 
the island. You can understand that, of course. 
After that I will do everything that I possibly 
can to get information for you that may be of 
use in your operations against him.” 

“We appreciate your offer, said Captain 
Smith. “We will keep in touch with you at all 
times, and if it is necessary for you to remain 
on the island after Miss Ingleton has been taken 
off, you may rest assured that we will stand by 
you all the time.” 

Immediately after this conference Redmond 
tried again to dissuade Mary Ingleton’s father 
from accompanying him to the island. He 
brought every argument that he could think of 
to bear in the attempt to discourage the former 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


201 


secretary of the navy from making the trip. 

“It would be just as well if you went with us 
on the cruiser and remained aboard while I went 
ashore/’ he said to Ingleton. “You would be ful¬ 
ly posted there as to what was taking place, and 
you could be ready to come ashore at a moment’s 
notice if it were necessary for me to have assist¬ 
ance. But don’t you see how much it will add to 
the danger if you come ashore with me right 
away. It will make it so much easier for the pi¬ 
rate or his men to discover us. Not only that, 
but in case there is a chance of getting your 
daughter off the island, it will add to the dan¬ 
gers of our trip in the small light boat, before 
the cruiser picks us up.” 

“I appreciate all your arguments,” replied 
Ingleton, “and in a way I am convinced that you 
are right. But I can’t bring myself to stand 
idly by while knowing that she is in danger. No, 
it is useless for you to plead with me. My mind 
is fully made up, and I am going to the island 
with you, or else I go there alone.” 

Seeing the futility of further argument, Red¬ 
mond dropped the entire matter and began to 
make his own arrangements for the trip to Rat- 
rocinio Island. He got into communication with 
Captain Moore and discussed with him the de¬ 
tails of the arrangements between them that 
were to be carried out after Redmond had been 
landed on the island. 

It was agreed that Redmond should be at the 
cove each evening at nine o’clock and that he 
would rig up his portable wireless set and call 


202 THE FLYING BUCCANEER 

the cruiser with it until he got a response. This 
would only be done in case he had a message of 
importance to deliver. Each evening at nine 
o’clock the cruiser would steam within five miles 
of the island. At all other times she would be 
just below the horizon but within a convenient 
radius. 

As soon as the details of the trip had been 
completed the cruiser Farragut left Honolulu 
with Redmond and Arthur Ingleton aboard as 
passengers. It was decided to proceed to Patro- 
cinio Island at cruising speed, and it was esti¬ 
mated that the voyage would take about three 
days. It was timed so that the cruiser should 
arrive otf the southern shores of the island after 
sunset. Captain Moore was then to take his ves¬ 
sel within a mile of the beach, and a detachment 
from his crew in a long boat would row Red¬ 
mond and Ingleton ashore in a small light boat 
and give them assistance in hiding the small boat 
in the vegetation ashore, after which the crew 
would return to the cruiser. As soon as the two 
men had landed they were to proceed to the little 
cave where Redmond had lived during the period 
he was on the island and spend the night there. 
The following morning they were to go to the 
meeting place at the rock where Redmond had 
always met Mary Ingleton and wait there for a 
possible chance of getting her attention again. 

At five o’clock on the evening of the third day 
out from Honolulu the engines of the cruiser 
Farragut suddenly slowed down and in a few 
minutes stopped altogether. Redmond who was 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


203 


walking along the quarterdeck with Arthur In- 
gleton immediately turned to his companion and 
said: 

“Well, I guess we are almost within sight of 
our destination. The engines have just stopped, 
and I imagine that means Captain Moore is go¬ 
ing to wait for sundown before he proceeds any 
further.” 

Ingleton’s face lit up with a greater animation 
than he had displayed in months. 

“Let’s go forward and see whether we can 
make the island out,” he said eagerly. 

Redmond assented to this, and the two made 
their way forward into the sharp bows of the 
cruiser. After they got there both men strained 
their eyes at the horizon. A few moments later 
Redmond, who had picked up a pair of glasses, 
said: 

“I can just see the island faintly. If you 
look through these glasses, sir, you will observe 
what looks like a small cloud directly to the 
north of us. That’s it.” 

Ingleton took the proffered glasses and peered 
through them intently. While he looked Red¬ 
mond said: 

“I’ll go aft and ask Captain Moore what his 
plans are. I guess he will land us immediately 
after sundown, which will be in another hour’s 
time. We’ll probably have dinner before he puts 
us ashore. I’ll be back shortly if you want to 
remain here.” 

“Alright,” replied Ingleton, “I think I’ll re¬ 
main here for a while. I am anxious to see 


204 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


what the island looks like as we get nearer to 
it before dark.” 

Redmond turned round and went aft, leaving 
his companion standing on the quarter deck. The 
cruiser still had considerable way on and was 
moving through the water at about ten knots an 
hour. No effort had been made to check the 
vessel’s momentum, after the engines had been 
stopped. Captain Moore had simply signalled 
down to stop the engines and was now allowing 
the headway to carry his vessel forward. 

In less than an hour the blazing san would 
disappear below the western horizon, and then 
night would descend over the sea with the sud¬ 
denness known only in tropical regions. As soon 
as darkness had cast its obliterating mantle 
about them, Captain Moore planned to run 
his vessel within a mile of the beach, which 
was now within sight through the marine glass¬ 
es. After that he would land his passengers. 

As Redmond reached the companion-way lead¬ 
ing to the bridge the roaring crash of a mighty 
explosion rent the stillness of the summery sea 
and arrested his progress. For one fleeting 
second a blinding flash eclipsed the brilliance of 
the sun and illuminated the forward part of the 
ship in its consuming rays. Pausing involun¬ 
tarily upon the stairway, Redmond looked 
toward the bows of the cruiser. As he turned 
the vessel shook violently from stem to stern 
in a sickening, vicious vibration, which seemed 
to wrench it plate from plate. It was as though 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


205 


some volcanic agency had seized it in a destroy¬ 
ing grip and was rending it apart. 

Stupefied by the very suddenness of the ca¬ 
tastrophe, Eedmond could not remove his eyes 
from the deck before him. Automatically they 
recorded upon his active brain a moving picture 
of the vivid scene that was enacted within the 
brief measured space of two seconds. As he 
looked he saw the figure of the former Secre¬ 
tary of the Navy outlined in sharp contrast by 
the blinding rays of the flash which accom¬ 
panied the explosion. Then, before he could 
draw a breath, he saw Ingleton’s arms shoot 
upwards involuntarily. He saw the figure of the 
man he had just left sway unsteadily for a mo¬ 
ment and then crash helplessly to the deck. Then 
suddenly the spell that had held him in frozen 
immobility ended, and he rushed forward blind¬ 
ly, to the man he had just seen fall. 

For a few moments chaos reigned upon the 
war-vessel. Upon the bridge Captain Moore 
had been struck in the arm by a piece of flying 
metal and painfully injured. Ignoring this, he 
remained at his post, and with trained calm¬ 
ness of a naval officer and leader, quietly or¬ 
dered the bugler to sound the call “ Collision 
quarters.” Like magic the discipline of the navy 
exerted itself and quickly brought order out of 
the chaos. Eapidly and steadily each man went 
to his station, while officers who were detailed 
by the commander went forward to ascertain 
the cause and effect of the explosion. 


206 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


Before they had received their orders, how¬ 
ever, Redmond had reached the hows of the 
ship and was bending over the prostrate form 
of Arthur Ingleton. He raised the head of the 
former naval chief in his arms and did the best 
he could to restore consciousness. While he 
worked, the ship’s surgeon arrived and quickly 
examined the injured man. Redmond watched 
him a few moments and then said: 

“Is he badly hurt, Sir?” 

“So far as I can see,” replied the medical 
officer, “he has not been seriously injured. He 
was knocked unconscious by the shock of the 
explosion. That in itself is pretty bad and will 
take a long time for recovery, but I don’t think 
he has got any broken bones or internal in¬ 
juries. It’s too soon to tell though. I’ll have 
him removed to the sick bay right away.” 

While this was being done the officers who 
had been examining the bows of the cruiser to 
find out the nature and extent of the damage 
completed their task and returned to the bridge 
where they reported the result of their examin¬ 
ation to the captain. 

“It looks as though we had struck a mine, 
sir, there’s a big hole in the bows,” the senior 
officer reported. 

“It must be one of that pirate’s mines,” ex¬ 
claimed the captain. Then he cried: “Where’s 
the bo’s’n? Send him here.” 

“Here, sir!” replied the bo’s’n, saluting as 
he came upon the bridge. 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


207 


“Have yon taken any soundings for’ard?” 
asked Captain Moore. 

“Yes, sir!” answered the bo’s’n. 

“What do yon find?” 

“Number one compartment is flooded, sir. 
Water is pouring into number two, but we can’t 
find at what rate yet.” 

“Will she stand up?” queried the captain 
sharply. 

“Don’t know yet, sir. The men are taking 
soundings again now. We are watching number 
three. The water’s pouring in very rapidly, 
and she’s down by the head.” 

“Alright,” added the captain, “report back 
to me as soon as you find out at what rate it’s 
coming in.” 

Then turning to the chief executive officer, he 
ordered: 

“Put out the lifeboats and have the crew 
stand by. Order the fires shut off down below. 
Have everything in readiness in case she shows 
signs of going down, and wait for further or¬ 
ders, in case we have to abandon ship.” 


CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN 


The day after Levanter had showed her 
through his manufacturing plant dawned fraught 
with grave possibilities for Mary. It was the 
day set for laying the mine bombs in the sea 
on the western side of the island. Now or 
never was her chance! She was to get a first 
hand demonstration in the manner of handling 
the bombs; and after that she must carry out 
her dangerous plan immediately, as the repairs 
to the airplane were now completed, and there 
was no telling when Levanter might stroll over 
to the beach near the Hilo and discover that 
the lifeboat was missing. True he did not go 
in that direction often, but there was no way 
of knowing how soon he might. 

As soon as she was dressed Mary went down 
to the dining room that had been built in the 
house where they all lived. Levanter and his 
crew were all seated at the table, eating the 
breakfast that had been prepared by the Ka¬ 
naka cook of the schooner. As she sat down 
the sky pirate said to her: 

“We are going to set out immediately after 
breakfast, Mary. Will you be ready then?” 

“Yes,” she replied. 

208 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


209 


She was far too excited to eat much, although 
she made an ostensible effort to do so, as she 
did not wish the men in front of her to suspect 
that her feelings were anything but normal. Im¬ 
mediately after the meal, the men went outside 
and began to load the bombs which had been 
completed on the airplane. Mary went out with 
them. She noted that they had carefully ob¬ 
served whether the safety lock was in before 
picking up the dangerous things. There were 
too many to carry on one trip, and it was de¬ 
cided to make two voyages to the place where 
they were to be submerged. 

When the task of loading the bombs on the 
airplane had been completed Mary went aboard 
with Levanter and the rest of the crew. The 
airplane was released from its mooring to the 
ringbolt on the jutting rock, and the marine 
screw was started. It took about an hour to 
make the voyage to the destination because the 
airplane, although only of shallow draft, was 
compelled to cruise well within the mine belt 
and go slowly. Its retractible wings were drawn 
up close to the side of the fuselage cabin. Only 
in the harbor itself had sufficient room been left 
free from mines for the airplane to land upon 
and take off from the water. 

Once arrived at the scene of the mine laying, 
Mary watched the operations with extreme in¬ 
terest. A number of heavy rocks had been 
brought along in the airplane, one for each 
bomb. W^hile the airplane was cruising to the 


210 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


place where they were to be lowered into the 
sea, the crew was engaged in splicing ropes to 
the rocks. The rocks were to act as anchors to 
the bombs. As soon as a rope was spliced on 
to a rock, the other end of the rope was attached 
to the bomb, the length of the rope being just 
sufficient to keep the mine submerged. 

Immediately after the airplane arrived at its 
destination its wings were again extended and 
were used as a platform from which to drop 
the bombs into the sea. Levanter had made a 
careful survey of the island and had drawn a 
chart of it and the waters surrounding it. A 
pin point on this chart marked the exact loca¬ 
tion of each bomb that had been previously 
dropped into the sea. 

At the point where he desired to sow the re¬ 
maining mines the airplane was brought to a 
stop, and the crew went out on the wings. One 
of the rocks wifh its rope attached was dropped 
overboard. At the other end of the rope the 
mine was attached, and as soon as the rope be¬ 
came taut the mine was carefully dropped over¬ 
board, after the safety lock had been released. 

Mary watched these operations carefully and 
intently. Occasionally she asked Levanter a 
question, which in every case he did not hesitate 
to answer. She had now gained a complete 
knowledge of the manner in which the bombs 
were handled safely, and she was convinced that 
she herself could handle them without danger. 

While the men were still engaged in their 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


211 


work, Mary was deeply engrossed in the prob¬ 
lem of detonating one of the bombs, should she 
be successful in obtaining one and placing it 
under the schooner Hilo. It was evident that 
she could not change the mechanism of the bomb 
herself, therefore, she must devise some other 
means of exploding it from a point of safety, 
after placing it beneath the schooner. 

She was still deep in this reverie when Le¬ 
vanter and his men had completed their 30 b. 
She was brought back to realities by the former 
who tapped her on the shoulder and said: 

6 ‘ Mary, I am going to say something personal. 
1 hope you won’t misunderstand me. I am not 
saying it to insult you because I know what I 
am going to tell you is my fault and not yours.” 

4 ‘What is it?” asked Mary somewhat sharply. 

“It’s a pretty difficult and delicate thing to 
say,” he replied, “but I couldn’t help noticing 
as you stood there how much you are in need 
of some new clothes. Your wardrobe must be 
nearly exhausted.” 

“Well, you can’t expect me to keep in the 
height of fashion on your island, can you?” said 
Mary with asperity. “The stores here are not 
exactly in the same class with those on Fifth 
Avenue.” 

“I didn’t mean to be rude, Mary,” said Le¬ 
vanter, “the fault is mine, I know. What I 
wanted to tell you was that I am going out to 
get you some new clothes. The airplane is in 
good repair again, and as soon as we get this 


212 THE FLYING BUCCANEER 

job done I will go out and get you something 
new.” 

Mary was now all attention. His remark had 
aroused all the feminine interest and instincts 
within her. How did he propose to get new 
clothes for her?- She had been dissatisfied with 
her appearance but had become reconciled to 
it, especially as there were no other women on 
the island. His remark opened up a number of 
possibilities. Was he going to take her with 
him, if so, where? This might offer a chance 
to escape from him. Quickly she decided to press 
him on that point and find out just exactly what 
his intentions were. 

“You don’t suppose that you can buy clothes 
that will suit me, do you?” she asked. 

“Well, no,” he replied, “I didn’t intend to 
buy them. I was going to get them from my 
next airship. I thought you could come along 
and pick out what you wanted.” 

The answer was a distinct disappointment to 
Mary. 

“Do you think I want to wear some other 
woman’s clothes?” she exclaimed indignantly.” 

“Why not, Mary,” inquired Levanter. “There 
is no other way to get them. We can’t take 
you to any store to buy you new ones, and 
even if we could, the stores we could take you 
to are so inferior that you would undoubtedly 
get better looking clothes from one of the air¬ 
ships than you would from any of the stores in 
the Pacific Islands. Women who can afford to 


THE FLYINK BUCCANEER 


213 


travel on the airships can afford to have good 
and stylish clothes, and yon can have the best 
there is on the airship just for the taking.” 

“Oh; if that’s the case I’m not interested,” 
said Mary with an air of finality. “The clothes 
I have are good enough for me under those cir¬ 
cumstances.” 

“But, my dear girl, what you have will soon 
be in rags; you can’t expect them to last for¬ 
ever. Besides I like to see you looking nice.” 

“Well I can sew them if they become ragged,” 
she replied, “I am not going to put anybody 
in danger for the sake of new clothes.” 

“I am going anyway, so you might as well 
have the best we can get for you,” said Le¬ 
vanter. 

“You may do as you please, but I am not go¬ 
ing with you.” 

Mary refused to discuss the matter any fur¬ 
ther, and Levanter did not insist. She dismissed 
the subject from her mind. On the way back 
to the harbor she became deeply engrossed again 
in the problem of obtaining one of the bombs. 
Having decided upon what she thought was the 
best way to do this, she tackled the next problem 
confronting her. How could she arrange for its 
explosion after she had placed it under the 
schooner and had herself reached a place of 
safety? 

She had no knowledge of mechanics, and she- 
racked her brain for some means of accomplish- 


214 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


ing her purpose without danger to herself. Fi¬ 
nally, after thinking over it for a long time, an 
idea occurred to her which she thought might 
help her. 

She could employ a trick she had seen the 
boys use in snaring birds, while she was a little 
girl. If she could get a heavy rock, poise it 
above one of the contact studs of the bomb by 
means of a stick, and then attach a string to it, 
she could pull the string and let the rock fall 
on the contact. She felt sure that it would fall 
with sufficient force to explode the bomb, blow 
up the schooner, and destroy all evidence that 
the lifeboat' was missing. It was the best solu¬ 
tion of the difficulty that she could think of. The 
problem now confronting her was to obtain one 
of the bombs. 

As the airplane neared the harbor Mary’s 
mind reverted to the subject of clothes that had 
just been broached by Levanter. After all he 
was apparently determined to go out again and * 
bring down another airship, and nothing that • 
she could do or say would prevent him from.: 
carrying out his purpose, short of a direct prom-;, 
ise to marry him, and she had no intention of! 
giving him that. Here indeed was a chance to 
put her plan into effect while he was away. She 
felt sure that on the morning of his departure 
he would ask her to accompany him. She decid¬ 
ed to feign illness as a pretext for not going. 
Then after he had left in the airplane she would 
try to get one of the bombs from the workshop 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


215 


and endeavor to complete her task before he re¬ 
turned. She figured that he would be away fully 
six hours and probably longer. This would give 
her ample time to do what she wanted, provided 
the Kanakas kept out of the way. So far as 
she could see the latter was the only thing that 
would stop her. 

When the airplane reached the harbor the crew 
got busy loading up the remaining mines that 
were to be dropped on the western side of the 
island. Mary went off the machine with Le¬ 
vanter and shortly after said to him: 

“I don’t feel like going out with you again 
this afternoon. I think I’ll remain here while 
you go out. I want to read.” 

“Alright,” he replied. 

In the afternoon Mary waited until Levanter 
and his men went down to the airplane, then 
she strolled over to the beach and examined the 
Hilo very carefully. She looked for the best place 
to put the bomb. Then she searched for a rock 
heavy enough to fall with sufficient force to ex¬ 
plode the bomb. Having found one, she decided 
it would be a good idea to save a lot of time 
by moving it into position right away. 

For the rest of the afternoon Mary worked 
feverishly and laboriously, moving the rock over 
toward the schooner Hilo with the aid of a big 
stick she used as a lever. With great patience 
and persistent effort she succeeded in getting it 
alongside the wrecked schooner. Her task com¬ 
pleted, she paused, almost exhausted from the 


216 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


exertion. So violent had been her struggle in 
moving the heavy rock that perspiration was 
running freely down her face, and her breath 
was coming in deep heavy gasps. Still panting, 
she straightened herself up and looked around. 
At that moment she got the greatest shock of 
her life. 

Standing directly behind her, was Levanter 
with a sardonic smile upon his face. 


CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT 


Upon the shattered decks of the cruiser Far- 
ragut order had scarcely been established out of 
the chaos that followed the explosion when the 
sun descended below the western horizon. Two 
minutes later complete darkness enshrouded the 
torn bows of the cruiser in a pall of obscurity, 
obliterating from view the effects of the violent 
explosion. 

Order reigned, but it was a tradition-enforced 
order that existed on the surface of subdued 
but intense excitement. The men were at their 
stations, all standing at attention, awaiting with 
ill-concealed anxiety the next command that 
would move them into welcome action. Through 
the mind of every one there passed disturbing 
thoughts. None knew which comrade had per¬ 
ished in the catastrophe, and none dared voice 
the fears which the darkness intensified. 

So close was the damaged cruiser to the shores 
of Patrocinio Island that Captain Moore did not 
dare to show a light. He feared the terrific 
report which followed the explosion had betray¬ 
ed his presence, and might seriously endanger 
him should the pirate come out at daybreak. 
217 


218 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


The darkness that now engulfed them made the 
task of ascertaining the extent of the damage 
almost impossible. 

In the short time that intervened between the 
explosion and the sun’s descent the cruiser’s 
bows had presented a picture of torn and twist¬ 
ed steel, which in some places had been stripped 
into metal ribbons, and in others had been torn 
into crumpled sheets. How far the crippled stem 
of the warship had been rent asunder it was 
impossible to say owing to the darkness. That 
it had been seriously damaged was emphasized 
by the complete flooding of the forward com¬ 
partment. The cruiser was also badly down by 
the head, which gave a considerable slant to the 
decks. That was the condition which confronted 
Captain Moore when the bo’s’n came upon the 
bridge the second time to make his report. 

“How’s it look?” asked the captain curtly. 

“Number three is holding tight, sir,” replied 
the bo’s’n. “The pumps are working on num¬ 
ber two. I think she will hold up, sir. We’ve 
got her under control now, sir, I think.” 

“Good!” exclaimed the captain. “Keep at 
your soundings and let me know what they 
show.” 

“Aye, aye, sir,” answered the bo’s’n, as he 
went about his task. 

Then the captain turned to an officer beside 
him and issued a number of commands calcu¬ 
lated to take care of the desperate situation. He 
ordered the crew away from their “abandon 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


219 


ship” stations and set them to work at various 
tasks that were necessary under the circum¬ 
stances. 

As soon as it had been ascertained that the 
ship was not in any immediate danger of sink¬ 
ing, the surgeon obtained a detail of men and 
superintended them while they carefully placed 
the unconscious form of Arthur Ingleton on a 
stretcher and carried him below to the sick bay, 
where he was placed on a cot. There the sur¬ 
geon made a more thorough examination of the 
injured man and took the necessary steps to 
restore him to consciousness. Redmond, who 
had helped in removing the stricken man from 
the bows of the ship to the sick bay, was waiting 
for the surgeon to complete his examination. As 
soon as it was over he asked anxiously: 

“How is he, doctor?” 

“Well, he is in a more serious condition than 
I thought at first,” was the reply. 

“Then there’s no chance of his recovering in 
time to go ashore with me, eh!” inquired Red¬ 
mond. 

“Good God, no,” answered the surgeon, “it 
will probably be three weeks or a month before 
he recovers under the most favorable circum¬ 
stances. If he has suffered internal injuries it 
will take much longer. Everything depends upon 
that.” 

Redmond said nothing further, but in his 
heart he was glad that Ingleton would not be 
able to go with him, although of course he was 


220 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


deeply sorry that his injuries had proved to be 
so serious. As soon as he had definitely as¬ 
sured himself that there was no chance of the 
former secretary’s immediate recovery, Red¬ 
mond went forward. 

Captain Moore was still on the bridge, re¬ 
ceiving reports and giving orders for the tasks 
that would help in keeping the damaged vessel 
afloat. Redmond waited for his opportunity, 
then went up and asked: 

“How does it look, captain, is there any chance 
of my going ashore tonight?” 

“Yes,” replied the commander, “we’ll take 
care of you pretty soon now. We’ve got the 
situation under control, but I think we’re pretty 
badly damaged. As soon as I have found out 
just where we stand I’ll make arrangements to 
put you ashore. How is Mr. Ingleton?” 

“He’s in pretty bad shape. The doctor says 
there isn’t any possibility of his getting out of 
bed for a few weeks. Under the circumstances 
I think it will be the wisest thing for me to go 
ashore and look after Miss Ingleton as soon as 
you can arange to get me there. While you 
are completing your emergency measures I’ll get 
my own stutf ready.” 

“Alright,” replied the captain. 

Redmond went down to his cabin in the after 
quarters of the cruiser and packed up the few 
belongings he had gathered to take ashore with 
him. For half an hour afterwards Captain 
Moore directed the work of investigation and 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


221 


superintended the emergency measures taken to 
keep the cruiser afloat until she could again 
reach port. This was a most vital problem be¬ 
cause the nearest port at which repairs could 
be made was Honolulu, more than fifteen hun¬ 
dred miles away. It meant that any temporary 
measures had to be relied upon to hold up the 
cruiser until she was able to cover that vast dis¬ 
tance at the snail’s pace of about four knots 
an hour. It would be impossible for the war 
vessel with its damaged bows to go any faster 
than that. 

As soon as he had satisfied himself that every¬ 
thing possible had been done under the circum¬ 
stances, Captain Moore summoned Eedmond to 
the bridge again. 

“Everything’s ready for you now,” said the 
captain as Eedmond came up to the bridge, “we 
are going to put you ashore right away. Owing 
to this confounded explosion we will not be able 
to stay here and stand by you. I am going to 
advise Captain Smith at Honolulu by wireless 
and ask him to send another cruiser here. It 
will take the other fellow at least three days to 
get here, even if he is ready to start off imme¬ 
diately after Captain Smith gets my wireless. 
I doubt, however, whether there is a cruiser 
available, and even if there is it will probably 
be a couple of days before he can get away. That 
would make it four days before the other cruiser 
could get here under most favorable circum¬ 
stances.” 


222 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


“I'll have to make the best I can of the situ¬ 
ation/ ’ said Redmond. 

While this conversation was going on, a detail 
of the crew had launched one of the steam pin¬ 
naces and had attached one of the ship’s gigs 
to it as a tow. As soon as this had been done, 
the officer who had been in charge of the detail 
came on to the bridge and, saluting, said to the 
Captain: 

“All’s ready, sir.” 

Captain Moore turned to Redmond and, seiz¬ 
ing his hand in a hearty grip, said: 

“Well, good bye, Redmond, and good luck. 
I’m sorry this mine has put me out of business, 
because I wanted to be in at the finish, but I 
guess I’m out o’ luck.” 

“Good bye, Captain,” replied Redmond. 
“Somehow I have an idea that you will be in at 
the finish all right. You were there at the be¬ 
ginning and I have a suspicion you will be here 
again.” 

“Well, I hope you’re right,” laughed the cap¬ 
tain. 

Redmond then followed the officer to the ac¬ 
comodation ladder on the side of the cruiser. 
The two men got into the steam launch, and the 
officer gave the word to “shove off.” 

On the short run to the beach the officer said 
to Redmond: 

“When we get to the cove my men will give 
you a hand in putting the boat ashore. I guess 
you don’t want it any further inshore than is 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


223 


necessary. How do you propose to launch it 
from the beach in case of necessity.” 

“Well, if you can spare the time,” said Red¬ 
mond, “you can come ashore with me and look 
the place over for the most suitable spot to hide 
the boat. I never thought of any launching ar¬ 
rangement before. Have you by any chance got 
any wooden rollers in the launch that I could 
use under the keel of the boat!” 

“Yes, I thought of that,” replied the officer, 
“and I put a few of them aboard the launch. 
You can have them, that’s what I brought them 
for, but even so it will be a pretty stiff job for 
you to push the boat into the sea anyway, es¬ 
pecially if anybody is after you.” 

“If anybody were after me,” said Redmond, 
“I wouldn’t attempt to launch it. I would take 
a chance of remaining on the island and fighting 
the pirate from the bushes. I’m armed now and 
have got a better chance against him. Under any 
circumstances Miss Ingleton will be able to give 
me a hand. She is a pretty strong young 
woman.” 

The trip in the launch to the little bay was 
made very slowly because of the intense dark¬ 
ness. With extreme care the officer in charge 
felt his way, then maneuvred his craft under the 
direction of Redmond until it pulled up along¬ 
side a ledge of rock that jutted out into the sea. 
This made an ideal platform upon which to land, 
as its surface was just above the gun’les of the 
launch. Redmond and the officer jumped out, 


224 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


and the latter instructed three of his men to row 
the small gig to the beach, pull it ashore and 
wait for them there. 

While the men were doing this, Redmond and 
his companion walked near the beach where the 
boat could be hidden in the brush. The beacH 
was of a gravel nature which extended inshore 
for two or three hundred yards in an irregular 
line. Back of this the tropical vegetation was 
extremely thick and was interspersed with ba¬ 
nana plants and cocoanut palms. 

After a considerable search the two men suc¬ 
ceeded in locating what they thought was an 
excellent place to hide the boat. Then they went 
down to the beach where the men had dragged 
the boat ashore and gave a hand in pulling it 
over the ground to the place where they had 
selected its hiding place. There they carefully 
placed it in the bushes, after which they removed 
with care all traces of the boat’s passage over 
the beach. 

“Well, I guess we’ll go back now,” said the 
officer, “is there anything else we can do to help 
you?” 

“No,” replied Redmond. 

“Alright, we’ll get along then. I wish you 
the best of luck, old man, and I can tell you 
we are all sorry that we won’t be able to stand 
by you. We were all set to have a go at that 
dirty son-of-a-gun the pirate, but we’re out o’ 
luck, that’s all. Good-bye—good luck!” 


CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE 


For several moment after the naval crew had 
left him on the shores of the little cove at the 
southern end of Patrocinio Island Redmond 
paused deep in thought. He was confronted with 
a very confusing dilemma. Should he remain 
where he was for the rest of the evening and 
take a nap in the bushes surrounding the cove, 
or should he try to make his way in the dark¬ 
ness to the cave where he had lived during his 
previous stay on the island? 

If he went forward in the dark, he mused, 
there was always the possibility that he might 
stumble over something and betray his presence. 
On the other hand, with nothing but vegetation 
to hide in where he was, he might easily be dis¬ 
covered in the morning, should any of the pirate 
gang happen to came over to that side of the 
island. 

After weighing the matter carefully in his 
mind, he decided to stay where he was. He fig¬ 
ured this would entail the least risk, and more¬ 
over, he was anxious to inspect the place where 
the boat was hidden, during daylight, so that he 
would be more familiar with it, in case of need. 
225 


226 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


Having reached this decision, he searched 
around for a suitable spot to sleep in, and hav¬ 
ing found it, threw himself down and slept 
soundly for the rest of the night. 

As daylight hurst in on the tropical sky the 
following morning, Redmond awoke, bright and 
alert. He ran over to where a small brook was 
trickling its way into the bay and took a hur¬ 
ried wash. Then, after a meal of bananas pluck¬ 
ed from the plants around him, he made a brief 
examination of the hiding place where the row 
boat was stowed away. No better place could 
have been chosen even in daylight. It lay along¬ 
side a small bumpy piece of ground not more 
than a hundred yards from the sea, and it was 
completely hidden from view by vegetation. 
There was not a single mark on the beach to 
show where it had been pulled from the water 
over to its hiding place. In the boat was the 
small compact wireless set which would be a 
link between himself and the cruiser in case of 
emergency. It was of the reflected wave type, 
operating on a waveleangth of half a meter. It 
could be conveniently held in the hand, and yet 
it could easily cary his voice for a distance of 
twenty-five miles in a straight line. This re¬ 
markable efficiency was due to the fact that in¬ 
stead of radiating in every direction, the electro¬ 
magnetic waves were reflected in the same man¬ 
ner that a beam of light is reflected from a mir¬ 
ror. The set was so designed that it could be used 
for transmission and reception, thus making 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


227 


it possible to conduct a conversation with it. 
The power required was supplied by a single 
dry cell, and a small high voltage battery. 
It was a development of the system first pro¬ 
duced by Guglielmo Marconi, the inventor of 
wireless, and his assistants in 1922. Satisfied 
that the boat would escape detection and yet be 
easily moved into the sea in case of need, he 
started his journey into the interior of the isl¬ 
and, where his old cave was located. His prog¬ 
ress was necessarily slow because of the density 
of the tropical vegetation which covered the isl¬ 
and in an almost solid patch. After trudging 
for a little more than an hour, he finally reached 
the cave that had been his home for so many 
nights. Everything was practically as he had 
left it. 

Redmond had brought with him a few neces¬ 
sities, which he figured would make his stay at 
the cave more endurable, and these he proceeded 
to stow away carefully where they could not be 
seen in case any of the outlaws should happen 
to pass that way. Among the things he brought 
with him was an automatic pistol, a very small 
revolver, and a short range rifle equipped with 
a silencer. After he had hidden his small camp, 
equipment, he threw himself down within the 
shade of the cave for a brief nap during the 
heat of the midday sun. 

The afternoon was well advanced when he- 
awoke again. Hurriedly he gathered a meal from 
the growths around him and washed it down 


228 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


with copious draughts from the brook that pass¬ 
ed around the hill in which the cave was located. 
This done, he set out on his journey to the rock 
where he had been in the habit of meeting Mary 
Ingleton during his previous stay on the island. 
With him he took the rifle for use in any emer¬ 
gency that might arise. In his pocket he had 
placed the small revolver. This* he intended to 
give to Mary at the first opportunity as a means 
of protection for herself. 

He moved forward cautiously. It was now a 
long time since he had last trodden the path and 
he was not absolutely sure of himself, and the 
trail he had broken was covered completely over 
with thick growth. Another reason that im¬ 
pelled him to caution was the fact that he did 
not know what changes might have taken place 
at the pirate’s end of the island. As he went 
forward he realized that he was confronted with 
the most hazardous part of his trip, and as he 
walked with difficulty through the jungle two 
concurrent but unconnected thoughts passed 
through his alert mind. Almost subconsciously 
one thought was concentrated upon the task be¬ 
fore him of getting to the rock safely without 
detection. It was engendered by his fixity of 
purpose and developed by the quick observation 
of his eyes and the keen perception of his ears. 

Coincident with this thought was another and 
more intimate one which proceeded from his rea¬ 
soning faculties. It was caused by his anxiety 
over the safety of the young woman he had 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


229 


come to assist, but its continuation was due to 
an entirely different reason. 

It was several weeks since he had last seen 
Mary Ingleton, and many things had happened 
to him during that period. Now that he was 
approaching the critical part of his adventure 
he wondered how she had fared while he had 
been in Honolulu and she was on the island at 
the mercy of the pirate and his crew with no one 
to encourage or protect her. 

As he thought his mind reverted back to the 
time when he had set out from the island in the 
frail boat to reach civilization and bring aid to 
Mary. At that time, he mused, he was actuated 
by purely altruistic and chivalrous motives. The 
series of remarkable adventures he had under¬ 
gone and the suffering he had experienced, how¬ 
ever, had caused him many moments of serious 
introspection during that time, and now he knew 
that an entirely different cause motivated his 
present efforts. 

There was no doubt about it. His former in¬ 
difference toward the weaker sex had entirely 
disappeared, and in its place a new feeling had 
been engendered within him. With the calcu¬ 
lating calmness that was one of his chief char¬ 
acteristics he had analyzed carefully day by day 
the new sensation, and after a long deliberation 
he had come to a conclusion as unexpected as his 
cogitation had been lengthy. He realized and 
admitted to himself that he was in love with the 
young woman he was now on his way to aid. 


230 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


Strangely enough the realization brought him 
no feeling of happiness. Instead his mind was 
sorely troubled. It was beclouded with depress¬ 
ing thoughts concerning Mary and gloomy con¬ 
nections regarding her safety. Under any other 
circumstances he would have pushed forward to 
assist her with only the thought of getting to the 
scene of her involuntary imprisonment at the 
earliest possible moment. Now, however, a se¬ 
ries of wild conjectures as to what might have 
happened to her during his absence coursed 
through his mind in rapid succession to torture 
him. He imagined all kinds of gruesome things, 
and even though he carefully argued that all of 
them were impossible, nevertheless he could not 
entirely cast the gloomy ideas from his mind. 

Thus, alternately rising to the heights of hope 
and then falling into the depths of despair, he 
trudged slowly forward through the jungle until 
he reached its edge. Then he looked out over 
the clearing where the pirate had established his 
base. In the foreground was the rock where he 
had met Mary so many times before. Not a 
sign could he see of any of the outlaw gang 
upon the shores, or near the buildings where 
they lived and worked, nor was Mary to be seen 
anywhere. 

He was disappointed. Having assured him¬ 
self that no one was in sight, he cautionsly 
emerged from the shelter of the vegetation about 
him, and then made his way slowly and care¬ 
fully to the rock. It was his intention to stay 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


231 


there as long as it was daylight, on the chance 
of attracting Mary’s attention, should she come 
out of the building. If unsuccessful in this he 
had decided to come back each day until he 
had finally seen and spoken to her. He was 
anxious to complete the plans for her escape 
as soon as possible, despite the fact that it 
would be a few days before another cruiser 
could possibly arrive from Honolulu and take 
the place of the damaged Farragut. 

He reached the rock in safety and then lay 
down beside it. He made himself as comfortable 
as he could under the circumstances. In this 
condition he was hidden in such a manner that 
he could look around the base of the rock and 
get a clear view of the pirate’s base before him 
without being visible himself. 

As he looked over the harbor he saw the re¬ 
markable airplane of the pirate afloat near the 
rock to which it was moored. He concluded that 
Levanter and his crew must be upon the island. 
His reasoning was apparently confirmed by the 
small wisp of bluish smoke which was idly rising 
out of the small stack in the workshop building 
where the liquid oxygen fuel was made by Le¬ 
vanter’s men. 

It seemed as though he had been lying there 
for years before anything happened. In reality 
a little more than an hour had elapsed from the 
time he took his position behind the rock until 
he saw two figures emerge from the larger build¬ 
ing. As they moved about he recognized in them 


232 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


Levanter and Mary. Instinctively lie gripped his 
rifle. He brought it to his shoulder as he lay, 
ready at a moment’s notice to aim and fire. 
His natural caution however warned him against 
any hasty action that might jeopardize the 
chances of rescuing Mary, especially as it would 
be several days before he could get her off the 
island under any conditions. 

Silently and intently he watched the two fig¬ 
ures. They appeared to be engaged in a very 
excited conversation, judging from their ani¬ 
mated gesticulations. As they spoke to one an¬ 
other they were gradually walking to the land¬ 
ing place where the airplane lay at its moorings. 
Occasionally Mary would stop, and Levanter 
would turn toward her and apparently argue 
with a great show of eagerness before they be¬ 
gan to move on again. 

Suddenly Eedmond set himself in tense but 
subdued alertness. His quick eye had detected 
a decided change in the situation when Mary 
had stopped once more. He distinctly saw her 
stamp her foot, apparently in anger, turn com¬ 
pletely around and then start back in the direc¬ 
tion whence she and Levanter had come. As 
she did so he saw the latter leap forward and 
grasp Mary by the shoulder. He saw the pirate 
stop Mary abruptly by the strength of his grip 
and shake her visibly. The scene he witnessed 
completely severed the restraining grip of cau¬ 
tion that had held him motionless. He was in¬ 
wardly boiling with an all consuming rage en- 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


233 


gendered by the scene that was being enacted 
before him upon the beach, and under the sour 
of its intensity he raised his rifle to his shoul¬ 
der and fired. The bullet sped silently and true. 
Bedmond saw Levanter’s grip loosen from 
Mary’s shoulder. He saw the pirate reel un¬ 
steadily for a second, then fall in a huddled heap 
upon the ground. 


CHAPTER THIRTY 


For three days after her crew had placed Red¬ 
mond on the shores of Patrocinio Island, the 
damaged cruiser “Farragut” limped steadily 
forward at the rate of twelve knots an hour to¬ 
ward Honolulu. Hers was probably one of the 
most forlorn voyages ever undertaken. When 
she left Honolulu every man on board was keyed 
up to the pitch of expectation, proud and eager 
to be in at the finish of the pirate whose depre¬ 
dations had aroused the entire world. Now their 
ship was slinking back to port in a crippled con¬ 
dition, rendered impotent by one of the defen¬ 
sive weapons of the pirate they had hoped to 
capture. 

Immediately after Redmond had been placed 
ashore the crew of the “Farragut” stretched a 
tarpaulin around the shattered bows of their 
vessel to break the force of the water. Other 
temporary repairs were also made. Fortunately, 
the bulkhead between the second and third hold, 
which had not been damaged by the explosion, 
was still watertight and sufficiently strong to 
enable the ship to proceed at the reduced speed. 

Realizing the desperate nature of the voyage 
234 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


235 


before him, Captain Moore took the shortest pos¬ 
sible course to his destination, and although it 
practically paralleled the regular trade route be¬ 
tween Honolulu and Midway Island, not a single 
object was sighted to relieve the monotonous 
sameness of the vast sea throughout the dreary 
time that had elapsed since the return trip be¬ 
gan. Several times the war-vessel had been very 
close to the various uninhabited rocks belonging 
to the Hawaiian archipelago, but none had been 
sighted. In fact, no effort had been made to ap¬ 
proach them. 

Early on the fourth day of the voyage, when 
sun observations showed the “Farragut” was 
approaching the elongated island of Niihau, 
Captain Moore sent instructions forward to the 
men on duty to keep a sharp watch for sight of 
of land. This order had scarcely been issued 
when the look-out man in the fighting top of the 
foremast sang out to the bridge: 

“There’s a ship about two points on the port 
bow, sir.” 

Captain Moore was in the navigating room at 
the time. He immediately gave orders to the 
quartermaster, who promptly threw his helm 
over, so that the “Farragut” would approach 
the other ship. Within half an hour the two 
vessels were close enough to permit semaphore 
signalling to one another. Before that time, 
however, it was clearly evident that the stran¬ 
ger was a war-vessel of the fast light cruiser 
type. 


236 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


Having ascertained the nature of the stranger, 
Captain Moore naturally surmised that she was 
on her way to take his place off Patrocinio Isl¬ 
and, in response to the emergency message he 
had sent shortly after the explosion had dam¬ 
aged the bows of his ship. 

In her subsequent signals the approaching 
cruiser said she was the “New Orleans”, under 
instructions to proceed to Patrocinio, and inter¬ 
cept the “Farragut” on the way. Her comman¬ 
der then added that he had orders for Captain 
Moore and asked the latter to come to in order 
that he could deliver them. 

This was done immediately, and shortly after¬ 
wards a small launch was lowered from the 
“New Orleans”, which then started over toward 
the “Farragut.” When the launch came along¬ 
side the damaged cruiser Captain Simmons of 
the “New Orleans” came aboard and went into 
the navigating cabin. There, after customary 
greetings had been exchanged with Captain 
Moore, Simmons said: 

“I have instructions for you from headquar¬ 
ters at Honolulu. Here they are.” 

He then handed Captain Moore a sealed en¬ 
velope and continued: 

“As I understand it, we are to change com¬ 
mands and you are to take the “New Orleans” 
on to Patrocinio and carry out your original in¬ 
structions.” 

Captain Moore took the message and hurriedly 
read it. It confirmed, in regulation navy form, 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


237 


what Captain Simmons had just said. The two 
officers then went through the necessary formal¬ 
ities of transferring their commands. As soon 
as this had been completed they engaged in con¬ 
versation for a few moments, during which 
Moore gave his colleague an outline of the ex¬ 
plosion and the events that followed it. 

“How is Mr. Ingleton now?” asked Captain 
Simmons. 

“He’s improving wonderfully,” replied Cap¬ 
tain Moore. “At first the doctor was afraid he 
had suffered internal injuries, but I understand 
that such is not the case. He is still laid up, suf¬ 
fering from the effects of the shock, but he is 
expected to recover pretty rapidly now, I be¬ 
lieve.” 

“Well, I’m glad to hear that. Was he disap¬ 
pointed at not being able to go ashore with Bed- 
mond to aid his daughter? 

“We haven’t discussed that situation with 
him at all. The doctor has asked us not to do 
so, and I think it would be a wise idea not to 
mention it to him. In fact, if I were you, I 
would not visit him at all because if he saw 
there had been a change of commanders he might 
suspect something and begin worrying. So far 
as I am aware, he is still under the impression 
that we are lying off Patrocinio. He can’t feel 
the ship’s vibration where he is lying. It will 
be best to let him recover first and then explain 
the turn of events to him afterwards.” 

For the next few moments the conversation 


238 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


dwelt upon naval matters generally, in the 
course of which Captain Moore asked: 

“What’s the latest in connection with opera¬ 
tions against the pirate! Have any new plans 
been decided upon?” 

4 6 No! So far as I know, there is no change in 
the situation, except that I heard the experts in 
Washington have cabled that they have been 
successful in developing a new kind of bomb and 
shell that is to be used against him when every¬ 
thing is ready for the final operations.” 

4 ‘What’s the nature of ’it?” inquired Moore. 

“I don’t know exactly. I understand that it 
is a chemical bomb containing some liquid gas, 
probably something like those Levanter is re¬ 
ported to be using.” 

“We haven’t heard a thing during the time 
we have been coming from the island,” said 
Captain Moore, “so we have been wondering 
whether anything unusual had happened, or whe¬ 
ther the pirate had been out from his base at 
all.” 

“There is nothing new,” replied Captain 
Simmons. “The pirate has been inactive ever 
since you left Honolulu. I imagine that he is 
undergoing periodical repairs. He is undoubt¬ 
edly having great difficulty in obtaining the sup¬ 
plies he needs for his engines. The private com¬ 
panies are not taking any chances, and most 
schedules have been completely abandoned until 
there is a greater measure of scurity against 
him. Of course, I don’t know anything about 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


239 


the plans that are being made, bnt I have an idea 
that it won’t be very long now before a concen¬ 
trated attack is made against the pirate. I know 
all kinds of pressure is being brought to bear 
on the government to move against him, and ev¬ 
erybody is keyed up. You are a lucky dog. 
You’ll probably be right on the job when things 
are moving.” 

“Well, I hope they move quickly,” said 
Moore, “it’s no cinch lying around off that God¬ 
forsaken place waiting for something to happen 
and not knowing anything. It can’t come too 
quick to suit me.” 

“Well, I wish you luck anyway,” said Sim¬ 
mons as Moore rose to leave. A few minutes 
afterwards the latter was in the launch on his 
way to take over his new command and proceed 
back to the pirate’s nest. 


CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE 


When Levanter fell with a bnllet from Red¬ 
mond’s silent rifle through his leg, Mary Ingle- 
ton gained a respite from the most trying ordeal 
of her life. As it happened, Redmond’s return 
to Patrocinio Island occurred the evening before 
the pirate had taken Mary on the mine laying 
trip, and the former officer of the Wilbur 
Wright was actually making his way across the 
island from his cave to the old meeting place 
when Levanter surprised Mary beside the 
schooner Hilo. A lifetime of emotion had been 
concentrated for her in the brief hour which in¬ 
tervened between the two incidents. 

At the moment when, flushed and worn out 
from the tremendous effort she had made in roll¬ 
ing the rock alongside the wrecked schooner, Ma¬ 
ry looked up and saw her captor before her the 
surprise sent her heart into violent palpitation. 
For several seconds—a seeming eternity—she 
stood in open mouthed astonishment, speechless 
and helpless. The pirate watched her unfeigned 
amazement while he endeavored to guess the 
reason for her exertions. Finally he broke the 
tensity of the situation by exclaiming: 

240 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


241 


“What are you trying to do, Mary?” 

His question brought Mary out of her stupor, 
back to her normal self. 

“Good Heavens,” she gasped, “you startled 
me terribly. How did you get here?” 

“I’m sorry,” replied Levanter, with a cynical 
smile. “I didn’t mean to frighten you, dearest. 
I changed my mind at the last moment and 
didn’t go out with the men. I sent Johnson out 
to superintend the mine laying job and then I 
came back. I saw you come out here and 1 just 
naturally followed you.” 

The term of endearment used for the first 
time by Levanter since her imprisonment on the 
island brought a flush to Mary’s cheeks. It was 
not caused by any feeling of embarrassment. In 
fact the mingled feelings which had gripped her 
following his sudden appearance were complete¬ 
ly consumed now in the molten heat of her vio¬ 
lent hatred for the man before her. The flush 
was one of anger. The sky pirate on the other 
hand misinterpreted it entirely. The appearance 
of the blush on Mary’s face as he addressed her 
endearingly, caused him to forget momentarily 
the suspicions her actions had engendered within 
his mind. 

Mary’s anger had now overcome her fear and 
to a certain extent subjected her judgement. 
Turning to Levanter, she exclaimed with con¬ 
siderable emphasis: 

“I think you are terribly mean to scare me 


242 THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


like that. I didn’t think you were prowling after 
me and spying on me.” 

The remark brought Levanter out of the realm 
of speculation back to realities and his sus¬ 
picions. 

“But I can’t understand what on earth you 
were doing pushing that big, heavy rock about,” 
he said. 

“Oh, I was just exercising,” said Mary sar¬ 
castically, still angry. 

Levanter left her and went over to the 
wrecked schooner. He began to examine it care¬ 
fully, particularly where Mary had rolled the 
rock up alongside it. Despite his careful search, 
he could find nothing wrong, and the failure 
left him still further perplexed as to her mo¬ 
tives. What was her object in struggling so 
persistently with the rock, he reflected? It cer¬ 
tainly was not for the purpose of exercise, 
because there were many more pleasant ways 
in which she could have done that. No! There 
was some real reason for it, and he made up 
his mind to find out what it was. 

After making a complete search around the 
schooner, he clambered aboard the wreck and 
carried his investigation further. He went 
through the battered hull, from stem to stern, 
picking his way slowly and carefully through 
the piled up debris. Everything about the old 
schooner was as natural and normal as could 
be under the circumstances, considering the 
length of time it had lain upon the beach, sub- 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


243 


ject to the constant pounding of the heavy surf. 
Disappointed, Levanter came up on the deck 
again and continued his survey there. 

Suddenly he stopped short, his eyes fell upon 
the empty boat davits in the stern. He walked 
over and examined them carefully. The blocks 
and tackle were close hauled to the top of the 
davits, and the slack of the rope was coiled 
about the deck. The life-boat was gone! 

Levanter thought deeply and intensely. In 
what condition was the lifeboat when he and his 
men wrecked the schooner on the beach? To 
the best of his recollection, the boat had been 
left on the davits. In fact, he was almost sure 
of it, because he remembered ordering his men 
to break in its sides. He looked over the side 
to make sure that the boat was not lying water¬ 
logged in the surf. There was no trace of it. 
Having made sure of this, he scrambled back 
ashore and went over to Mary. Throughout the 
time he had been on the schooner she had stood 
waiting, deep in thought, puzzling her brain 
for some plausible excuse to explain her ac¬ 
tions. She realized she had been caught red- 
handed, and she knew that whatever the out¬ 
come of the present situation, Levanter would 
be suspicious and watch her every action. It 
certainly meant the end of her plan to cripple 
his adventure by means of one of his own 
bombs. Also, it was quite possible that he would 
considerably restrict her liberty or movement 
about the island. 


244 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


“Where is the lifeboat!” he queried, some¬ 
what irritably. 

“How should I know?” replied Mary. 

“Well it's missing,” continued Levanter, “and 
you must know something about it, otherwise 
I can't understand what you are doing here.” 

“I don't know anything about it,” Mary re¬ 
torted with heat, unashamed at the lie. Didn’t 
you break it up? That's what you told me be¬ 
fore.” 

‘So I did, but I left it hanging on the davits, 
and it isn't there now, and what's more, I find 
you doing a most una count able thing around 
here. That's what I can't understand. There 
must be some connection in this thing, and you 
might as well tell me what it is. If you think 
you can get away from me, you are very fool¬ 
ish.” 

“I am not so silly,” said Mary, “I know I 
can't get away and I'm not going to take any 
foolish chances. There's nothing I can tell you 
about your old boat.” 

For several minutes Levanter plied her with 
questions in a vain effort to trap her into some 
admission that would give him a clue to the 
mystery that confronted him. She answered 
readily enough at first, but in a completely 
non-commital manner, and when he began to 
press her more closely she became more reti¬ 
cent, and finally refused to answer at all. This 
attitude set fire to the kindling ferocity in Lev¬ 
anter's temper and he stepped toward her. 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


245 


Realizing the change and really alarmed, Mary 
began to walk away toward the huts. She had 
no idea what to do, except that she thought 
it wise to get as far away from him as she 
could while he was in his present threatening 
mood. He strode after her angrily. 

“Why don’t you answer me?” he demanded 
as he reached to grasp her. 

She evaded him readily enough, but for the 
first time in her life she was really afraid. In 
fact she was almost terror-stricken. More than 
ever the realization dawned upon her that she 
was completely within the man’s power and at 
the present moment alone with him. 

“Don’t you dare to touch me!” she exclaimed. 

The pirate laughed at her. “Why, what 
would you do?” he asked. 

Then, as she did not answer, he continued, 
“My dear girl, there is nothing that you can 
do. You will have to do as I tell you. You 
can’t get away from me. I am determined to 
find out just what you were doing up at the 
schooner, and you might as well tell me now 
as later.” 

While he was talking Mary was walking slowdy 
forward, watching him closely out of the cor¬ 
ner of her eye. There had flashed through her 
mind the memory of their last encounter when* 
he had flared up and tried to seize her—the 
time when Walter Johnston, the pirate’s chief 
assistant, interrupted in her behalf. As far 
as she knew all the members of the pirate crew 


246 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


were still out on the airplane, laying mines 
along the coast, and consequently she was alone 
on the island with Levanter, with the exception 
of course of the Kanakas. It was no use looking 
to them for any assistance. 

Helpless as she apparently was, however, 
Mary still hoped that by some fortunate chance 
the crew had already returned from the mine 
laying trip, so she steadily walked along, hoping 
against hope that she would attract the at¬ 
tention of Johnston. 

The momentary laugh which had escaped from 
Levanter tempered the intensity of his wrath 
somewhat, but he was still in a highly inflamed 
temper. He continued after Mary, trying hard 
to solve the mystery surrounding the incident 
which had given rise to the present situation. 
They continued in this manner for several min¬ 
utes, to Mary’s great relief, until finally they 
came up to the huts. 

The Kanakas were all busily engaged at the 
tasks which had become routine to them. Mary 
felt a little easier because, while it was ex¬ 
tremely doubtful just what they would do in 
case the pirate molested her, she felt that she 
was not as isolated as she had been at the op¬ 
posite side of the harbor where the wreck of the 
Hilo was lying. 

She gave a quick glance toward the airplane¬ 
mooring place, but her hopes were quickly 
dashed, for there was no sign of the machine. 
She realized now that it was a case of her 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


247 


wits against the temper of the pirate. There 
was no use going any further, she figured, as 
that would take her away from the Kanakas, 
and she realized bitterly that Levanter would 
follow her wherever she went. She tried hard 
to think of some way of getting out of the mess, 
but nothing occurred to her. 

Suddenly she turned around and faced Lev¬ 
anter. 

“Why do you keep following me?” she cried. 
“What do you want of me?” 

The violent anger which had possessed Lev¬ 
anter had cooled down considerably. During 
the walk from the schooner he had been thinking 
hard, going back over every possible detail and 
every incident that he could think of that had 
taken place during Mary’s stay on the island. 

As a result of this recollection, three things 
stood out prominently in his memory. 

First, the unexpected, unexplained and un¬ 
traced disappearance of his man, Harrison, 
which had long since passed out of his mind. 

Second, the decided change which had recently 
come over Mary in regard to her attitude toward 
him and her sudden interest in all of his plans 
and activities; and 

Third, the unusual task she was engaged in 
when he surprised her a short time ago. 

Surely, he reflected, there must be some con¬ 
nection between these things. But what that 
connection was he could not figure out. 

r A new thought suddenly came into his mind: 


248 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


Had Harrison turned traitor on him? 

The very idea caused his anger to flare up 
again. Had Harrison got away in the Hilo’s 
lifeboat? No? he thought to himself, that would 
have been impossible. He could not have re¬ 
paired it and made it seaworthy in such a short 
time, and besides his disappearance had been 
discovered immediately. Moreover, the search 
he and his men had made with the airplane 
the following day would have quickly disclosed 
the presence of any boat on the sea, and he 
remembered that the search had been very 
thorough indeed. Not only this, but the search 
on the island itself had been very complete. 
Finally he dismissed the thought by deciding 
that Harrison had been drowned after all. 

Having convinced himself on this point, he 
tried to reason out some plausible explanation 
of the other incidents which were puzzling him. 
His thoughts kept him so fully engrossed that 
he was completely oblivious of his surroundings. 
The sudden exclamation of Mary brought him 
back to actualities. He looked at her for a 
few moments before replying, his temper mount¬ 
ing rapidly again. 

“By God!” he said finally, “I’m going to 
find out what you were doing and what it was 
all about.” 

“Ho you mean you are going to hurt me?” 
demanded Mary, with a show of defiance. 

“Suppose I decide to,” he said with a sneer, 
“who do you think would stop me?” 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


249 


“If you try to molest me, I shall call the 
Kanakas.’’ 

“A lot of good they would do you!” he 
jeered. “You needn’t get alarmed, though. I’m 
not going to hurt you. At any rate, not now.” 

Then, as though to belie his words, he started 
over toward her, saying as he went: 

“What do you know about that man of mine, 
Harrison, who disappeared?” 

As he spoke Levanter raised his hand and 
brought it down on Mary’s shoulder. He had 
scarcely touched her when he uttered a cry of 
pain, and then suddenly fell in a heap upon the 
ground. 

Mary was completely staggered at the sudden 
turn of affairs. For several moments she stood 
in stupified silence, looking at the pirate who 
was writhing in agony where he lay. Finally 
collecting her wits, she said: 

“What’s the matter?” 

“Good Lord!” he gasped, “I’ve been shot.” 

“Shot!” exclaimed Mary incredulously. “Who 
could have shot you? I didn’t hear anything.” 

“I don’t know,” he replied weakly. 

“Where are you hurt?” she asked. 

“In my right leg. I think the bone is shat¬ 
tered.” 

Suddenly a great light dawned on Mary. 
Surely it must have been Redmond who had 
fired the shot. It was a long time since she 
had received the welcome code letters over the 
wireless from the big government naval radio 


250 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


station at Honolulu which told of his safe ar¬ 
rival there, and she had been waiting anxiously 
day by day for his return. Many times had 
she strolled expectently to their old meeting 
place in the hope of seeing him, only to be dis¬ 
appointed. Surely this must be Redmund now. 
Who else could have fired the shot? 

Almost instinctively she turned and looked 
over to the rock. Suddenly her heart leaped 
with joy; there at the side of the boulder she 
could clearly make out his head peering out 
from behind it. Unthinkingly she motioned him 
to get back. Then realizing that her gesture 
might have been observed by the pirate, she 
turned in alarm at her foolish action. 


CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO 


Fortunately for Mary Ingleton the pirate was 
in such intense pain he had not observed the 
motion she had made when signalling Redmond 
to get back behind the rock. She realized that 
if he became aware of the latter’s presence on 
the island their chance of escape would be very 
slim indeed, but she felt sure that Levanter was 
in far too much pain at the present moment to 
ask questions about the bullet that had wounded 
him. Having assured herself that for the mo¬ 
ment everything was safe, she bent toward the 
wounded man and said: 

“I’m going over to get the Kanakas to come 
over and carry you into the hut.” 

He murmured his assent between groans. 

Seizing the opportunity thus presented, Mary 
walked as far as the first house between her¬ 
self and Levanter, where she was in sight of the 
rock behind which Redmond was hiding. She 
waved her arm until she saw his head cautiously 
emerge from the rock. Then she gave him the 
signal to remain there until she could come 
over. 

Having assured that Redmond had understood 

251 


252 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


her, Mary went over to the shop where the 
Kanakas were at work. Having found the chief, 
she explained to him what had happened, and 
in a few moments the whole gang walked over 
with her to the place where Levanter was lying. 

It took but a few moments to improvise a 
stretcher under Mary’s direction, and the 
wounded man was carefully placed upon it by 
the tribesmen. This completed, the Kanakas 
bandaged up the injured leg to prevent further 
bleeding and carried Levanter over to the living 
hut where they placed him on a bed. 

As they entered the room Mary, who was 
following in the rear, happened to cast a quick 
glance toward the rough table on which the 
pirate generally did his planning. A familiar 
looking paper was lying on it. A closer but 
quick glance showed here it was the chart of the 
island, marked with the position of every mine 
which the pirate had sown around the island. 
Making use of her opportunity, Mary hurriedly 
snatched it and thrust it in the neck of her 
dress. 

Immediately after Levanter had been laid 
upon the bed Mary went over and asked him 
how he felt. He answered in a gruff manner. 
Then she said: 

“I don’t know whether I should but if there 
is anything I can do for you I will.” 

“I don’t want anything,” he replied ungraci¬ 
ously. 

“Well, then” she added, “I am going out to 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


253 


see if I can see the airplane and if so get them 
to come to yon immediately .’ 9 

Without waiting any further she walked out 
of the hut. Once outside, she looked quickly 
over the harbor and, convincing herself that 
there was no sign of the pirate aircraft, hur¬ 
ried over to the rock were Redmond was hiding. 

She went straight behind the rock where she 
was completely out of sight of the settlement 
along the beach. As she was behind its shel¬ 
tering form she turned toward the former air¬ 
ship officer and with all the fervor in her voice 
she exclaimed: 

“Oh! I’m so glad you are back, Mr. Red¬ 
mond! I thought you would never come.” 

As she said this Marry uttered a deep sigh. 
In it were concentrated all the mingled emotions 
that had been pent up within her. It brought 
to her a sense of security and contenntment such 
as she had not felt since she came to the island 
and it removed the terrific strain on her nerves 
which had almost resulted in a swoon. 

For Redmond this was one of the epochal mo¬ 
ments of his life. Through his mind there 
rushed tumultously a hundred thoughts in a 
pell-mell fashion, but overshadowing all, there 
was the impelling desire to grasp the girl be¬ 
fore him in his arms and tell her how deeply 
he loved her. For a few seconds there was a 
desperate struggle within him between desire 
and wisdom, and throughout that time he re¬ 
mained tongue-tied. 


254 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


It had been a most trying hour for him in¬ 
deed. Ever since he had fired the shot which 
wounded the pirate his mind had been preyed 
upon by the thought that perhaps his hasty ac¬ 
tion had ruined all chances of rescuing the girl 
whose existence he was convinced meant his 
future happiness. 

He shuffled uneasily and finally blurted out: 

“I couldn't get here before, Miss Mary." 

The spell at last broken, Redmond plunged 
into his narrative and told his companion all 
that happened since the time he pushed off 
alone in the dead of the night on his fateful 
trip in the frail lifeboat. 

“We are in a pretty bad mess," he concluded, 
“because I don't know how long it will be be¬ 
fore the relief ship is able to get here, and it 
will be impossible to get you off the island un¬ 
til it does get here. That's the reason why I 
am afraid that I made a mistake in shooting 
Levanter. From here it looked as though he 
was going to strike you, and I just lost my 
head and shot him." 

“Don't worry about it," said Mary with a 
soothing tone in her voice, “perhaps it will all 
turn out for the best, after all. At least, let's 
hope so." 

She then told him what had happened and 
the reason for the scene which had led up to 
the shooting. At that point she added: 

“Oh! while I was in his room just now, I 
saw the chart he had with all the places where 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


255 


he has put those dreadful mines. I picked it 
up. Do you think it will he of any use to you?” 

“Will it?” said Eedmond with glee. “Why, 
that’s the best thing we could possibly get hold 
of. I’ll give it to the captain of the ship that 
is coming in place of the Farragut.” 

Thus they talked for quite a while until Mary 
suddenly came back to realities. 

“The airplane will be back any time now,” 
she said. “What do you think I had best do?” 

Redmond thought a while before replying. 
It was indeed a serious situation, and difficult 
to decide just what to do. There was no doubt 
that both of them would have to be extremely 
careful, as the pirate’s wound would have to be 
explained somehow. The crew would undoubt¬ 
edly suspect the presence of a stranger on the isl¬ 
and. Having turned the problem over in his mind 
thoroughly, Redmond finally said: 

“At first I was going to suggest that you 
come along with me and take a chance of es¬ 
caping at the first opportunity, but as we don’t 
know just when the next cruiser will get here, 
it would mean that we would both have to hide 
on the island until it arrived, and that would 
be suicidal. I hate to send you back there, Miss 
Mary, but I think it would be best under the 
circumstances, and it might allay to their sus¬ 
picions. Besides, it will make the whole affair 
more of a mystery to them. You will have to 
deny all knowledge of how the shooting oc¬ 
curred.” 


256 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


“If you were to disappear at this time,” 
Bedmond continued, ‘ 4 they would begin to search 
the island. Maybe they will anyway. I’m going 
to be as careful as I can. Much more so than 
I was before. I’m going to the southern end 
of the island tonight and send out a call on the 
portable wireless set I have there, in the hope 
of picking up whatever cruiser is coming along 
to take the place of the Farragut. I’ll try to 
get back to the rock here tomorrow if the con¬ 
ditions are right.” 

Then after a short pause he added: 

“I know it’s going to be very trying and very 
hard for you, Miss Mary, but I think it’s the 
best thing to do under the circumstances. I’ll 
try to keep within call of you in case of need. 
You know I’m armed now and that makes a 
great difference to both of us.” 

Mary listened very attentively to all he said. 
As soon as he had finished she replied without 
any hesitation: 

“I don’t mind it at all now that you are on 
the island again. Before you came back I was 
really afraid at times. You see I was all alone 
with these terrible men. Now I feel brave again. 
Don’t worry about me. I’ll be able to take 
care of myself alright, but I really think I 
should be going back now before the airplane 
comes in again.” 

Before Mary got up to go they both glanced 
cautiously around the sheltering rock to make 
sure that everything was clear. There was still 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


257 


no sign of the outlaw aircraft in the harbor. 
For several seconds they both looked at each 
other in silence, then Mary put out her hand 
and Redmond grasped it. 

“Au Revoir,” she said simply. 

That was all. A moment later she was al¬ 
ready walking resolutely toward the harbor. 

From behind the sheltering form of the rock 
he watched, his mind a prey to a thousand fears 
over her safety and the disturbing thought that 
his judgement in sending her back might event¬ 
ually prove to have been wrong. 

Mary walked steadily forward. Not once did 
she turn back, although she was strongly tempted 
to. She was wondering whether Redmond was 
staying at the rock, or whether he had already 
left for the other side of the island. She was 
in high spirits. The gravity of the situation 
confronting her did not impress itself upon her 
mind in any way. Somehow, subconsciously, 
the conviction that everything would turn out 
alright had settled upon her, removing all fears 
that had beset her a short time ago. Her spirits 
were as buoyant now as they had been depressed 
a few hours ago. The pendulum of life had 
swung to the side of hope at last. 

When she neared the beach she saw the air¬ 
plane turn the headland on the eastern side of 
the harbor as it moved along the surface of the 
sea. She stopped abruptly, then watched a 
while, as it came slowly in toward its mooring. 
As it got closer she commenced to walk slowly 


258 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


up and down as though she had been doing no¬ 
thing else at any time. 

It was not long before the crew had secured 
the machine to its mooring and made their way 
ashore. Johnston was in the lead, and Mary 
went over toward him. The unusual greeting 
surprised the pirate’s chief lieutenant, and he 
exclaimed: 

‘ 4 What’s the matter, Miss?” 

“Levanter had an accident,” she replied. 

4 ‘That’s what I came to tell you. His leg is 
hurt. He’s in the hut. He says he was shot, 
but I don’t know what’s the matter.” 

“Shot!” exclaimed Johnston incredulously. 
“Who could have shot him?” 

“That’s what I can’t say,” answered Mary 
truthfully enough. 

Johnston clearly showed his perplexity. 

“That sounds dam’ funny to me—Oh! excuse 
me, Miss,” he blurted apologetically, “but I 
can’t get that at all. Well, anyway, let’s go over 
and see what’s happened.” 

Mary went after him as he strode rapidly 
toward the hut where the pirate was lying. He 
was already inside the room before she reached 
the door. He went over to the cot and asked 
vigorously: 

“What in ’ell’s happened?” 

“I’ve been shot, Walter,” replied Levanter 
weakly. 

“Who the devil could shoot you?” 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


259 


“I don’t know. I was talking to Mary when 
it happened. I got it in the leg.” 

Without further ado Johnston bent over and 
examined the injured leg. The Kanakas had 
been bathing the would under the feeble in¬ 
structions Levanter had been able to give them. 

By this time the rest of the crew had entered 
the room, and Mary was standing by the door. 

“Is there anything I can do?” she inquired. 

“No,” replied Johnston gruffly. 

He turned to the others and ordered them to 
get a piece of wood to act as a splint to bind 
the pirate’s leg up. He then went over to the 
emergency medicine chest and made a dressing 
for the wound. 

All hands worked quickly, and it was not long 
before the injured leg was bandaged up as well 
as could be done under the circumstances. There 
was no doubt about the ease it brought Levanter. 
He expressed it in the sigh that escaped his lips 
just before he fell into slumber. 

After administrating his aid Johnston ordered 
the rest of the crew out of the room, and went 
over to Mary. 

“I want to talk to you, Miss,” he said as 
he led her out. 

Outside the hut he continued: 

“I’m a plain man, Miss and I don’t stand 
for any monkey business—it’s too risky in this* 
job. Now tell me straight what happened.” 

“Why I’ve told you all I can already,” said 
Mary. “There’s nothing else I can tell you.”' 


260 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


“Well, he says he was talking to yon when 
he was shot. Who shot him?” 

“That’s the funniest part about it,” replied 
Mary. I was talking to him. He was very 
angry over something. He was talking to me 
when all of a sudden he fell over. I didn’t 
hear a sound and I didn’t see any one. Even 
the Kanakas were all inside the workshop. It 
may sound funny, but honestly that’s the truth.” 

“Well it’s dam’ funny to me,” he said with a 
perplexed air. “I can’t understand it.” 

“If it’s funny to you, just think how mysteri¬ 
ous it was to me, because I was standing with 
him,” she said. 

A sudden thought entered Johnston’s mind. 
Looking straight at Mary, he asked: 

“Say was he trying to interfere with you?” 

“Why do you ask that,” queried Mary in 
reply. 

“Because I think you shot him,” replied 
Johnston menacingly. 


CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE 


Redmond stayed behind the rock, watching 
the trend of events closely when the pirate 
crew came off the airplane and walked over to 
Mary. He saw her engage in conversation with 
Johnston and watched them as they hurried 
to the hut where they all lived. 

Realizing that they would be inside for some 
considerable time and that there was nothing 
further that he could do at present, he began 
his journey across the island to the cove on 
the southern shore where he had landed from 
the cruiser Farragut. He was anxious to get 
there before darkness set in, as he was not 
sure that he could find the hidden boat in the 
dark. 

Instinctively he looked at his watch. It was 
already four thirty in the afternoon, consequent¬ 
ly he had no time to lose, as it would be com¬ 
pletely dark within an hour and a half. As 
soon as he was out of sight from the pirate’s 
settlement, he quickened his step as fast as 
the tropical growths about him would permit. 

After a weary trudge he arrived at his destin¬ 
ation, fortunately before darkness set in. He 
261 


262 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


readily located the hidden boat and took from 
it the portable wireless set which had been in¬ 
cluded for emergency purposes to communicate 
with the Farragut. 

It was a very remarkable piece of apparatus, 
so efficiently constructed that it could be carried 
in the hand and yet it had an effective range 
of twenty-five miles in daylight. Its basic prin¬ 
ciple rested upon the discovery successfully de¬ 
veloped by Marconi and his assistants in the 
year 1922, by which the electro-magnetic waves 
were concentrated and reflected in one direction 
only, just as a beam of light is concentrated 
and reflected in a narrow band of brilliance by 
a mirror reflector. 

Its portability was obtained by the fact that 
it radiated waves of only a quarter of a meter 
in length. To get such radiation an alternating 
current of 1,200,000,000 cycles per second had to 
be produced. This terrifically high frequency 
was obtained from a wonderful development of 
the vacuum tube—the Alladin’s lamp of radio— 
which had such an efficient filament that it oper¬ 
ated from a very small dry cell. 

The reflecting medium consisted of a para¬ 
bolic frame arranged around the transmitter, 
on which were strung a number of wires which 
acted as the reflecting antennae. Each of these 
wires was one wave-length long, in other words 
—a quarter of a meter. 

The apparatus which had been given to Bed- 
mond was designed for wireless telephone trans- 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


263 


mission and reception. A small microphone and 
telephone were included, both of which were ar¬ 
ranged on a holder in such fashion that when 
the ’phone was at the ear of the operator the 
microphone naturally came before the mouth. 
A small push button in the center of the handle 
switched the apparatus over from the trans¬ 
mitting to the receiving condition and visa versa. 

The set could either be operated upon the 
ground where the direction of communication 
was known, or from the operator’s shoulder in 
other cases. For the latter purpose a leather 
sling was attached to the framework supporting 
the small aerials, by which it could be suspended 
from the neck, thus leaving the hands of the 
operator free. This was a very necessary pro¬ 
vision because the telephone-microphone had to 
to be in one hand, and the reflector worked 
with the other when searching for another sta¬ 
tion whose direction was unknown. 

Since Eedmond did not know the whereabouts 
of the cruiser, which he hoped was on its way 
to replace the damaged Farragut, he picked up 
the apparatus, slung it across his shoulder and 
walked down the shelving rock which jutted out 
into the cove. 

He took a position where he could command 
the entire southern, eastern and western ap¬ 
proaches to the island. Although he did not 
know over what course the new cruiser would 
come, he had an idea that it would be pretty 
close to that which the Farragut followed when 


264 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


it brought him from Honolulu back to Patro- 
cinio. With the aid of his pocket compass he 
figured out the bearing of this course, then turn¬ 
ing on the current to the filament of his vacuum 
tube, commenced to call: 

“Hello! Hello!” 

For four weary hours he kept up the in¬ 
cessant calling, breaking it only at intervals in 
order to listen for a possible reply. Not a sound 
came to him from the black expanse beyond. 
By midnight he had given up all idea of getting 
in touch with any government vessel. After 
all, he thought, this was only the day after the 
Farragut had placed him ashore and the pos¬ 
sibility of any relief ship being in the neighbor¬ 
hood so soon was very slight. He had gone 
there on the bare possibility that one of the 
other cruisers which were patroling in the vicin¬ 
ity might have been intercepted and ordered to 
Patrocinio. 

Having come to the conclusion that further 
calling was useless, Redmond groped his way 
ashore in the darkness, placed his apparatus 
beneath some foliage and lay down and slept. 

The following morning he set up his radio 
in the lifeboat and made his way to his cave. 
During his previous stay he had discovered a 
narrow ledge inside just above his head. Fur¬ 
ther investigation now showed that it would 
make an ideal couch and, moreover, a good 
place to lay in hiding in the event that he was 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 265 

closely pressed in any search that might be 
made. 

After a brief rest during the noon-day heat 
he made his way cautiously to the rock where 
he had always met Mary. He lay down along¬ 
side it and watched, but though he stayed there 
practically until sundown, he did not see a soul. 

It was with very downcast heart that he made 
his way back to his crude habitation. He was 
very worried about the safety of Mary more 
so because of his inability to do anything that 
would help her. If he had only caught a glimpse 
of her even without being able to speak to her, 
his mind would have been much easier. As it 
was, he was a prey to all kinds of grave doubts, 

He decided earlier in the day that it was 
practically useless to go back to the southern 
cove for at least three days, consequently he 
had to make dally trips to the rendezvous in¬ 
stead, in order to keep as close a watch over 
the pirate crew as possible and protect Mary, 
if necessary. 

The next day passed as had the preceeding 
one, without a sight of Mary, although on this 
day Kedmond had seen the crew of the pirate 
craft moving about at various tasks around the 
hut and upon the airplane. Again with heavy 
heart, and weary mind and body he gave up 
his monotonous vigil and went back to his cave. 


CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR 


On the fourth day Redmond woke up uneasily. 
He was tortured by a mental uneasiness such 
as oftentimes preceds events of great moment 
in life. He had the feeling of impending dis¬ 
aster and a gloomy mood cast its overshadowing 
mantle about him, penetrating not only his mind 
but also his body until it seemed to sap all his 
strength. 

He tried vainly to cast it from him, but his 
efforts were of no avail. Sluggishly and almost 
sullenly he forced himself forward and made 
his way to the meeting place. Once there, he 
threw himself down behind the rock and almost 
automatically peered out as cautiously as ever 
upon the beach below. 

What he saw immediately dispelled the shad¬ 
ows of gloom and galvanized him into alert at¬ 
tention. The entire piratical crew with Johnston 
in the lead was walking down to the airplane. 
In the rear were some of the Kanakas, carrying 
packages which he rightly guessed were sup¬ 
plies. 

He quickly surmised that they were about to 
make a flight, and he watched them with the 
266 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


267 


keenest interest. It did not take long to trans¬ 
fer the load the Kanakas had carried into the 
airplane, and within a short time afterwards 
the machine taxied over the surface of the 
water and took oil into the air. 

Redmond was well covered where he was, as 
the tropical vegetation was quite thick about the 
rock. His previous stay upon the island had 
proven that there was no prospect of his being 
seen from the air, even when the machine flew 
low over the island, which it rarely did. On 
this occasion it flew straight over sea, climbing 
rapidly as it went. 

Shortly after the Kanakas had returned to 
the hut Redmond’s heart leapt with joy, as he 
saw Mary emerge from the living house. She 
looked around a few moments and began to walk 
toward the rock. Redmond could scarcely re¬ 
strain his impulsive desire to jump up and meet 
her. Only the realization of the utter folly of 
such a move restrained him. As she came within 
hearing distance, he called out: 

“Good morning, Miss Mary! I’ve been very 
worried about you. You don’t know how re¬ 
lieved I am. ’ ’ 

She quickly took her place near him, but 
still in full view of the beach, pretending to be 
reading a book which she had purposely brought 
with her. 

“I am awfully glad to get here,” she said. 

Redmond paused a few moments, wondering 
what to say, but finally blurted out: 


268 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


“I’ve been imagining all kinds of terrible 
things, Mary, and reviling myself for having 
sent you back to that gang.” 

Suddenly he stopped short and reddened 
deeply, as he realized that he had called her 
familiarly for the first time in his life. She 
turned toward him as he spoke and noticed his 
evident embarrassment. She immediately div¬ 
ined the cause, but with true feminine wisdom 
passed it by pretending not to have noticed it. 

“I couldn’t get out before,” she said, “be¬ 
cause they have been watching me all the time. 
Levanter is very ill. He is quite feverish, and 
at times has been a little delirious. He kept 
saying that the man Harrison had betrayed him 
and that I had helped him to do it. The rest 
of them couldn’t get any sense out of Levanter’s 
words but Johnston has become very suspicious. 
He has been pestering me with questions all 
the time he was not trying to get some sense 
out of Levanter. I’m sure that he is really 
mad. Last night he threatened me and kept 
bullying me, trying to find how Levanter was 
shot. At first he accused me of doing it but he 
doesn’t any more. Last night he told me he 
was determined to find out what was back of 
it all. He said he would go out in the airplane 
to see if any of the government ships were 
‘snooping around.’ Those were the words he 
used. Really, I am afraid of him.” 

Redmond thought long and deeply. He was 
convinced that the time for action had arrived, 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


269 


but precipitate action might spoil all chance of 
safety. What should he do? If only the other 
cruiser were here they could both seize this op¬ 
portunity and leave the island. He hated him¬ 
self at the present thought of sending the girl 
he loved back to the pirate gang. The situation 
had already passed into the critical stage, and 
there was no telling what might happen when 
the crew arrived. Nor was there any doubt that 
the pirate crew would soon discover the cruiser 
which must be heading toward the island by 
this time, now that the pirates were in the air. 

Suddenly he made up his mind. Turning to 
the girl beside him, he said gravely: 

“Mary, I’m not going to let you go back 
there.” 

“But do you think that’s safe?” she inquired. 
“I’m not a bit afraid as long as I know you are 
on the island, Mr. Bedmond. They would come 
after me surely, don’t you think, and you know 
your cruiser is not here yet.” 

“It’s a risk whatever we do,” he said, “and 
I prefer taking the risk which I can control best. 
You know I’m armed now, and we could fight 
them from cover if they came after us and lo¬ 
cated us. When they get back this time, there’s 
no telling what they’ll do. That gang of cut¬ 
throats would abandon Levanter readily enough 
if they figured it was necessary to save their 
own skins. They are just as likely to fly away 
tomorrow for good as not, and if they did they 
would probably take you along with them. I hate 


270 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


to think of it and I’m not going to take the 
chance. That man Johnston probably suspects 
that the government authorities know the island 
he is on now. I feel sure that’s why he went off 
in the airplane this morning. 

4 ‘Do you really think it’s best then that I go 
with you?” asked Mary. 

“Indeed I do,” replied Redmond, “and I think 
it best to get started right away.” 


CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE 


It was late in the afternoon when Johnston, 
in a towering rage, brought the airplane down 
upon the waters of the harbor. He was con¬ 
vinced now that they had been betrayed in some 
way which he could not understand. During the 
lengthy flight which had been made at a very 
high altitude and which covered an enormous 
stretch of the Pacific, he had observed the crui¬ 
ser New Orleans headed apparently toward the 
island. He had watched it carefully and noted 
that the course and speed of the ship were far 
too fast and straight for patrol duty. Moreover, 
he was confirmed in his suspicion that her pres¬ 
ent course would take her straight to Patroci- 
nio. 

It was until late in the day that he had first 
seen the ship. The flight had first been in an 
easterly direction. In the course of it several 
steamers had been observed but no particular 
attention was paid to them. The New Orleans, 
however, was traversing such an unusual course 
that she was distinctly conspicuous. 

As soon as the airplane had been made fast, 
Johnston ordered the crew ashore. 

271 


272 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


“You guys had better stick around here. 
You’ve got to do some mighty snappy work pret¬ 
ty soon, I’m telling you,” he exclaimed. 

He strode over to the huts and rushed into 
Levanter’s room. Seeing that the latter was 
awake and ignoring his condition, he asked 
roughly: 

“Where’s that woman?” 

Levanter was very weak with pain and very 
feverish. He turned wearily on his pillow and 
replied: 

“I don’t know. I haven’t seen her today.” 

“You’ve got us in a hell of a mess!” ex¬ 
claimed Johnston. “I told you it was a damn 
fool trick to bring her here, but you would have 
your way. Now look at us.” 

“What’s the matter?” inquired Levanter. 

“Matter, hell! I can tell you what’s the mat¬ 
ter when you tell me who shot you.” 

“I don’t know that either.” 

“That’s what you’ve told me. There’s some¬ 
thing to be real worried about. Looks as though 
we’ll have to make a quick getaway from here. 
There’s one of them damn government boats 
coming right here, and take it from me there’s 
some one on this blasted island besides us, and 
I’m going to find out who it is ri^ht now, and 
what’s more, your little lady friend is going 
along with me to find ’em. If I’m right and 
they get gay with their guns, they can take a 
chance of hitting her too.” 

Without waiting for any further reply from 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


273 


his chief, Johnston went over to Mary’s room, 
grasped the knob and pushed the door open, 
crying out as he did so: 

4 ‘Hey! young lady, come out here, I want to 
talk to you.” 

Getting no response, he walked in. A quick but 
thorough search convinced him that she was not 
inside. He then went out and, getting the crew 
together, ordered them to make a search for her 
and bring her to him as quickly as they could 
find her. 

They scattered about to different parts around 
the shore of the harbor where Mary had been in 
the habit of going. While they were thus en¬ 
gaged Johnston went into the workshop, grabbed 
hold of the chief Kanaka and put him through a 
heavy fire of questions about the movements 
of Mary while he had been away on his flight. 

The questioning was fruitless, and Johnston 
finally gave it up in disgust. He went out and 
waited for his men to return. It was getting 
close to sundown, and that fact added to his 
anger, as he realized that he could do nothing 
after dark. 

After a while all of the men returned, each 
bringing the same report they had found no 
trace of the girl. Johnston strode up and down 
for a few moments, swearing viciously while the 
men stoodly meekly by. Finally he turned to them 
and said: 

“Fix up everything on the ship. We’ve got 
to get out of here in a hell of a hurry, and I want 


274 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


to have everything right. Get me?” 

They did his bidding without question. As he 
watched he tried to work out some plan of es¬ 
caping the unwelcome situation. The disappear¬ 
ance of Mary did not perplex him at all. Al¬ 
though he had not expected it, the fact that she 
wasn’t around confirmed the guess he had made 
during the flight that some one else was on the 
island. Why he had come to that conclusion, he 
did not know; but once it entered his mind, he 
accepted it as the most logical means of explain¬ 
ing Levanter’s wound. 

How many strangers there were on the island, 
and how they got there, he did not even bother 
to speculate upon. He just naturally accepted 
the belief that Harrison in some way or other 
had betrayed them. 

As soon as the men had completed the work 
of putting fuel and provisions aboard the air¬ 
plane, he ordered them to place the most valu¬ 
able and most easily removable loot gathered 
from the three airships shot down by the pirate 
in the airplane. This done, he said: 

“Beat it, and get something to eat quick. 
When you’re through bring your guns out with 
you. We may need ’em. You’ve got a bunch of 
work to do tonight.” 


CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX 


No sooner had Redmond made np his mind 
to take Mary Ingleton with him than they both 
set out for the other side of the island. It was 
the first time she had been beyond the rock 
which had always been their meeting place. 
When they came to the cave in the center of the 
island they took a short rest, and Redmond 
show r ed her the place where he had lived so long. 
They soon started out again, but the progress 
was very slow, as Mary was not used to the 
rough going, and he had to assist her quite fre¬ 
quently. 

She was quite tired out by the time they 
reached the southern cove. Redmond got some 
blankets, which were stowed away in the boat, 
and laid them out, so that she could lie down 
and rest awhile. He then went out and plucked 
some of the tropical fruit and brought it to her, 
as well as a beaker full of water from the near¬ 
by stream. She took the food gratefully, and, 
after eating, fell into a light sleep. 

In the meantime Redmond brought out his por¬ 
table wireless set and carried it over to the rock 
where it would be in readiness for use as soon as 
275 


276 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


darkness set in. He also took out the spare gnn 
he had brought in the boat and laid it alongside 
Mary for her use in case of emergency. His own 
gun he carried slung across his shoulder all the 
time, and in addition had a revolver in the hol¬ 
ster strapped to his waist. 

These preparations served to keep his mind 
away from the worrying thoughts regarding the 
wisdom of his present move. Once the tasks 
were completed, however, they came back to tor¬ 
ture him. He sat down beside Mary, slipped 
the rifle from his shoulder and let it drop be¬ 
tween his hands where it would be ready for in¬ 
stant use. With every sense keenly alert, his 
ears were strained for any unusual sound that 
might come from the part of the island they had 
just left. 

Thus he watched and waited but nothing hap¬ 
pened. 

As the sun began to race toward the Western 
horizon he gently awoke the sleeping girl beside 
him. 

“It will be dark soon, Mary,” he said, “and 
we’ll have to be very careful then. I’m going 
to start calling on the wireless as soon as the 
sun goes down, and I want you to be on the 
watch for the gang while I do it.” 

Mary was fully refreshed from her sleep and 
was in buoyant spirits. 

“It’s all awfully exciting,” she said, with a 
little laugh. “You would scarcely believe it, but 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 277 

I feel really happy for the first time since I have 
been on this wretched island.’’ 

Redmond’s heart beat rapidly and he turned 
quick toward her. What did those fateful words 
really mean? With difficulty he restrained his 
impulse to grasp her within his arms and tell her 
of the love which he felt for her. His calmer 
judgement intervened before he could execute 
the dictates of his heart. 

“I’m very glad,” was all he could say, and 
even that escaped his lips in the most incoher¬ 
ent manner. 

He then went over to the rock where he 
had left his portable radio set. Taking it up 
over his shoulders, he began to send out the 
general call which had been agreed upon when 
the Farragut’s crew had passed him ashore, 
listening now and then for a possible reply. 
Carefully and slowly he searched in every direc¬ 
tion with the reflectors as he worked. 

It was a monotoonus task and one which re¬ 
quired the utmost concentration—a task to try 
the patience of even the most persistant man. 
Redmond was made of the stuff that knows no 
defeat. He vigorously quashed the desire which 
naturally sprang up within his mind to drop his 
efforts because of their futility and applied him¬ 
self still more earnestly to the task before him. 

For two hours he kept it up, his low toned^ 
oft repeated, “Hello Check” the code call agreed 
upon becoming more and more wearisome as the- 
time passed on. Ever and anon he would pause 


278 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


and peer through the darkness toward the dimly- 
outlined figure of the girl who was keeping 
watch over the northern approaches to the little 
cove. 

She was sitting up alongside the rock, resting 
against it, hut in such position that he could 
clearly see her outlined figure. The night was 
dark, in spite of the stars studding the heavens. 

Thus passed the early part of the evening, 
and lapsed into the second watch of the night 
when suddenly there came an abrupt halt in the 
monotonous call of Redmond’s oft repeated, 
“Hello, Check.” 

Rapidly he made a few delicate adjustments 
on the set about his shoulders and, holding his 
mouth a little closer to the microphone in his 
hand, said: 

“Hello! What ship is that?” 

This break in the monotony aroused Mary 
from the stupor which had been enveloping her 
gradually, and she involuntarily straightened up, 
keenly alert. Her first impulse was to inquire 
what had happened, but she quickly suppressed 
it and waited patiently. 

“Where are you now?” was the next question 
Redmond asked over his ’phone. 

He had picked up the long expected relief 
ship and learned that it was the “New Orleans,” 
and to his great joy had also been told that 
Captain Moore of the “Farragut” was in com¬ 
mand. 

“W{ait a moment and I’ll find out,” came the 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


279 


response from the operator on the war-vessel. 

Eedmond took advantage of their brief respite 
to turn to Mary and tell her the gladsome news. 
She was so excited that she made a few steps 
toward him, but he cautioned her to remain and 
listen as attentively as the wireless conversation 
would allow for any intruder. 

A few seconds later the voice came back in 
the receivers upon his ears: 

“The Captain says we are about fifty miles 
SSE of you right now.” 

“Fine!” replied Eedmond. “Tell him I have 
got a chart of the mine positions around the 
island, and he can come up within eight miles 
of the cove, but no closer. A small launch can 
be used for the landing. Tell him I’ve got Miss 
Ingleton here at the cove, and it is imperative 
that she be taken off tonight. The pirates are 
hunting us now.” 

The operator acknowledged the message and 
after a pause came back on his transmitter and 
said: 

“Captain says he is putting on full steam and 
will have a boat there in two hours from now.” 

With a sigh of relief Eedmond unstrapped the 
apparatus and laid it carefully upon the rock, 
so that it was still pointing in the same direction 
as it was when he had been conversing with 
the operator of the “New Orleans.” 

He then went over to the place where his 
companion was sitting. 

‘I’ve got some great news for you, Mary,” 


280 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


he said as lie looked at her intently in the dark¬ 
ness. While he could not see her features, he 
could, by that inexplicable means which some¬ 
times permits us to divine another’s thoughts, 
tell what her feelings were. He continued be¬ 
fore she could speak. 

“I hope you won’t mind my calling you Mary. 
I’ve just picked up the other cruiser. It will 
be here in two hours, and they are going to take 
you right off the island tonight.” 

Mary’s heart was too full for words. The 
moment she had been praying for and hoping 
for and looking forward to for months had at 
last arrived. Soon she would be on her way 
back to her parents. The possibility overwhelmed 
her and left her momentarily speechless. 

Eedmond misinterpreted her silence and blurt¬ 
ed out: 

“Really, Miss Mary, I’m sorry, but—er—” 

His floundering brought her back to realities 
and she rapidly intervened. 

“Oh, dear, there’s nothing to apologize for. 
You are splendid. I don’t know how I shall 
ever be able to thank you for all that you have 
done for me. I’ve been waiting for this moment 
a long time, but it came so suddenly that I did 
not know just what to say. Really I can’t be¬ 
lieve it even now. It all seems like a dream,— 
too good to be true.” 

“Then you are not angry with me!” asked 
Redmond with relief. 

“Of course not, Howard,—how could I be?” 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


281 


she replied with a coquettish laugh. 

It was the first time she had ever used his 
name and it electrified him. 

“Mary,” he exclaimed impulsively and 
stopped abruptly. 

She waited for a few moments, then said 
simply : 

“Well, Howard?” 

“I was just going to say that it will seem like 
a long time before the boat gets here,” he re¬ 
plied lamely. 

‘Oh! she ejaculated. 

There was something in that simple sound 
which so clearly expressed disappointment, that 
it aroused all the conflicting emotions he had 
been prey to ever since he realized his love for 
her. Again he felt those alternate doubts and 
hopes which confounded his otherwise decisive 
nature and robbed him of the power to speak 
his mind unhesitatingly. He was too afraid of 
a refusal, and rather than risk it, he chose to 
remain quiet. 

Mary intuitively had long since guessed his 
secret, and she fully realized the cause of his 
embarrassment. Somehow the happiness she 
experienced when the realization of her hope 
of escape from the pirate came was not an 
altogether unalloyed feeling. There was a new 
and strange element in it, and in her heart she 
knew what it was. For several seconds both 
were lost in deep thought. 

Mary finally broke the silence by asking him: 


282 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


“What are yon going to do when we get on 
the cruiser V’ 

“I’m coming back here,” he replied. 

“But what for?” queried Mary in alarm. 

“Well,” he said slowly, “I’m going to stick 
around ’till we’ve settled with this outfit. Be¬ 
sides, the government people have asked me to 
do it, and I can’t refuse them. Anyway I don’t 
want to be a quitter, and it will be a great 
pleasure to see the finish of this gang.” 

She did not reply. What he said however, 
instilled within her a fear which she had never 
before experienced, a fear over another’s safety. 
She wanted to urge him not to return to the 
island, but hesitation and a certain delicate in¬ 
hibition prevented her from doing that. 

Neither spoke for the next half hour each 
being far too engrossed with his own thoughts 
to indulge in conversation. 

Bedmond kept automatically sweeping the 
blackness of the night in all directions seaward 
in continuous and trained observation. Sud¬ 
denly he exclaimed: 

“I can see a light. It must be the cruiser.” 

“Where?” she asked. 

“Look straight along my finger and you will 
see it,” he replied, holding out his arm and 
pointing his finger toward the faint pin-point 
of light in the distance. 

“Oh! yes, I see it,” she exclaimed joyfully. 
“Oh, dear! It’s just too wonderful for words.” 

Redmond got up. “I’m going to speak to 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


283 


him,” he said. He then walked over to the 
place where he had left his wireless apparatus. 
He let it lay open upon the rock, merely picking 
up the microphone and switching on the cur¬ 
rent. 

“Hello! ‘New Orleans,’ he called. 

The answer came immediately, then he con¬ 
tinued : 

“We can see your lights now. When do you 
expect to send a boat?” 

There was a short pause, and the operator 
came back: 

“Captain says he will come to you in ten 
minutes and put out a launch right away. He’s 
not going to take any chances of coming any 
closer tonight. 

“All right,” responded Eedmond. “We’ll 
be waiting for you. I’m going to turn this off: 
now.” 

He then went back to his companion and told 
her the news. 

“You might as well come over to the rock 
now, Mary, so we’ll be ready when the boat 
gets here.” 

She assented, and he assisted her over the 
difficult ground in the darkness. Then they 
both sat down. 

Fifteen minutes later they heard the smooth 
toned exhaust of the power launch as it plowed 
its way through the water toward them, and 
shortly afterwards they were both outlined viv¬ 
idly in the rays of the searchlight which was 


284 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


suddenly thrown on by the oncoming boat. 

“Thank God!” he said fervently. “You are 
safe at last, Mary.” 

It did not take long for the launch to [pull 
up alongside the rock. The maneuvre was 
greatly assisted by the illuminating rays of the 
searchlight. A couple of sailors held it fast 
to the rock by means of boat-hooks, and an of¬ 
ficer sprang ashore. 

“Good evening,” he said, then added after 
bowing: “My name is Lockwood.” 

“This is Miss Ingleton,” replied Redmond, 
who then introduced himself and continued: “I 
think we had better push off right away, Lieu¬ 
tenant. There’s no telling how soon that pirate 
gang will be after us.” 

They both assisted Mary into the launch, and 
Lockwood gave the order to let go. The words 
had scarcely left his mouth when a shot rang 
out from the foliage fringing the cove. 

“Douse that light,” yelled Lockwood as he 
rang the engine bell for full speed ahead. 


CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN 


The run to the cruiser was quickly made by 
the launch with no casualties, despite the sud¬ 
den appearance of the pirates at the cove. 

“By George! That was a close shave/’ ex¬ 
claimed Lockwood. “If we’d been a few min¬ 
utes later some one would have been hurt for 
sure. They would certainly have hit one of us 
with that searchlight on.” 

As soon as they got aboard they went into 
Captain Moore’s cabin. The captain greeted 
Mary effusively and congratulated her on her 
fortunate rescue. Mary briefly acknowledged 
his solicitations and then asked anxiously: 

“How was my mother when you left Hono¬ 
lulu, Captain ?” 

Redmond was standing back of her, and he 
put up a warning finger to his lips, which the 
captain fortunately saw in time. 

“I am afraid, Miss Ingleton,” he replied 
cautiously, “ that she is not so well.” 

While on the island she had often asked Red¬ 
mond about her mother, but he assured as best 
he could and always adroitly changed the sub¬ 
ject before she could question him further. 

285 


286 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


On this occasion Mary tried to press the cap¬ 
tain for more details, bnt he told her that he 
had not been given any direct information. He 
also stndionsly refrained from mentioning any¬ 
thing about her father. Seeing that she could 
get no further information, Mary asked disap¬ 
pointedly : 

“How soon can we get back to Honolulu then, 
cap tain !” 

“Really I can’t hold out any hope for you 
there either, Miss Ingle ton. I’ve just got a 
code message from the Navy Department in 
Washington with instructions to wait here until 
further orders are received. I had planned to 
take you back right away, but this order came 
in just a few minutes ago, and I will be com¬ 
pelled to obey it. I don’t know just what’s 
going to happen, but I am going to drop out 
of sight of the island for the remainder of the 
night and come back after sun-up. We’ve got 
a cabin all fixed for you, Miss Ingleton, and I 
hope you will find everything all right. We 
shall do everything we possibly can to make you 
comfortable.” 

Mary felt keenly disappointed, but did not 
express it. After a short conversation she re¬ 
tired to her room, tired out after the strenuous 
and exciting day she had experienced. After 
she had gone Redmond said: 

“I’m glad you didn’t say anything, Captain, 
that would have indicated she had lost her 
mother. She’s been through a terrible ordeal, 


THE FLYING GUCCANEER 


287 


and Pm afraid the shock of the news would 
be too much for her. We’ll have to break it to 
her gradually after she has had a long rest.” 

Then, changing the subject, he gave the cap¬ 
tain an outline of what had occurred since they 
had last seen each other. 

“You say the pirate is in very bad condi¬ 
tion,” remarked Captain Moore. “Well, that 
changes the situation completely. It seems to 
me this would be a good time to land and go 
after him. 

“Well, I don’t know,” replied Bedmond. “I 
hadn’t thought of it.” 

“By George! It looks to me like the right 
thing to do, especially as we know just what 
the situation around the island is now that we 
have his mine chart. I’ll advise Honolulu by 
code through wireless and see what they have 
to say about it.” 

Having made up his mind on this point, the 
captain worked out the necessary code words 
and then sent the message in to the wireless 
operator with instructions to dispatch it im¬ 
mediately. This done, he turned to Bedmond 
and said: 

“The chances are that Honolulu will refer the 
matter to Washington before replying to me, 
but if they happen to agree with me on the 
advisability of landing now, would you be willing 
to go along and guide the landing party?” 

“Why of course, I would,” replied Redmond. 

“Well, that’s fine. I don’t know whether that 


288 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


gang is still hanging around this side of the 
island or not, but we can cover your landing 
with our light guns. That will hold them back 
until you get ashore and under cover.” 

“I don’t think they’ll stick around here,” 
said Eedmond. “They’re more likely to go back 
and be ready to make a getaway in the airplane, 
take a chance on landing somewhere without 
being seen, and then get back to civilization 
without being caught. That’s the way I figure 
it out, although, of course, you can’t tell just 
what they will do.” 

Captain Moore called in his executive officer, 
and for the next hour all three went over every 
possible detail in the event that a landing would 
be decided upon. Eedmond produced the rough 
chart of the island he had drawn during his 
first stay on it, and he pointed out to the two 
officers the more important aspects of its top¬ 
ography. They had just about completed their 
preliminary plans when an orderly entered the 
room with a message for Captain Moore. The 
latter took it, tore it open and hurriedly scanned 
its contents. 

“It’s in code!” he exclaimed. “Wait a mo¬ 
ment ’till I decode it. It’s the answer from Hon¬ 
olulu.” 

The others waited almost breathlessly while 
the captain performed the task of translation. 
This done, he turned to them and read: 

“Concur in landing proposal. Important re¬ 
inforcements will reach you at daybreak. 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


289 


He paused for a moment, then continued: 

“Well, we couldn’t wish for anything better 
than that. It looks like the beginning of the end 
to me now.” 

“I wonder what the reinforcements will be?” 
said Redmond. 

“I haven’t the faintest idea,” answered Cap¬ 
tain Moore. “We’ll see soon enough in the 
morning. Is everything satisfactory as we have 
planned it?” 

“Yes.” 

“All right then, I’ll steam up at daybreak 
and be ready to put you ashore with a party 
and cover your landing if necessary.” 


CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT 


On the following morning when the snn hurst 
over the eastern horizon with the sndden blaze 
of tropical brilliance the cruiser “New Orleans’’ 
was already within a few miles of Patrocinio’s 
southern shore. The landing party was standing 
by fully armed, ready to board the launches 
which were already in the water alongside the 
cruiser. 

On the bridge Captain Moore and the navi¬ 
gating officer were scanning the island through 
their marine glasses for any sign of the pirates. 

As soon as Redmond came up on the deck the 
order to move was given and the men filed 
down the accommodation ladder into the boats. 
When this task had been completed the boats 
cast off. 

Each of the launches was equipped with a 
one pounder quick fire gun in its bows, each 
of these manned by a gunner. On the cruiser 
the guncrews were standing by the six inch rifles 
ready to shell the island in case an attack was 
made upon the boats during their passage to 
the landing place. 

As the boats left the cruiser Lieutenant Lock- 

290 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


291 


wood, who had been placed in command of the 
landing party, turned to Eedmond and said: 

“Do you think that outfit is still on this 
side of the island ?” 

“Well, of course I can’t say,” replied Eed¬ 
mond, “but my guess is that they are not. I 
think they withdrew to the other side.” 

“Well, we’ll soon find out,” said Lockwood 
with a laugh. 

The run to the beach was quickly made, and 
a landing affected without any untoward event. 
Lockwood got his men lined up and was about 
to give the order to advance when a terrific 
explosion seaward halted him abruptly. 

“My God what was that?” he exclaimed as 
he, in unison with the rest, turned and looked 
south. One quick glance revealed the cause. 

Flying moderately low, the pirate airplane 
was sweeping around the cruiser in rapid vi¬ 
cious circles in a maneuvre of attack. The 
“New Orleans” was already under way, ga¬ 
thering headway very fast and zigzaging on her 
course. 

As the men ashore watched with pent up ex¬ 
citement they saw a flash as the cruiser opened 
up with its anti-aircraft guns a vigorous can¬ 
nonade upon the pirate. It was clear that the 
latter was maneuvring for the best position to 
bomb the cruiser, and the explosion which had 
been heard ashore was undoubtedly caused by 
the first bomb dropped to find the range. It had 


292 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


not apparently come close enough to do any 
damage. 

The effect of the rapid fire from the “New 
Orleans” was quickly evidenced by the higher 
altitude which the pirate climbed too. 

“Gee!” exclaimed Lockwood, “that’s great 
shooting. The higher they force him the less 
chance he has to hit ’em. Go to it boys!” he 
cried excitedly. 

For the moment all caution and discipline 
disappeared, and the men crowded around their 
officer to watch the unusual skirmish, shouting 
unheard words of encouragement to their dis¬ 
tant shipmates. 

It was not long before the second bomb fell. 
It hit the water with a resounding explosion, 
sending up a mountainous wave which blotted 
out the cruiser from the watchers ashore who 
strained their utmost to follow the effect. By 
this time the cruiser was close to the horizon, 
and it was difficult indeed to see it. 

“Good God! That was close,” exclaimed 
Lockwood anxiously. A few seconds later he 
sighed with relief as he saw the cruiser emerge 
from the obscuring but diminishing wave. 

The whole thing had only occupied a few sec¬ 
onds but it seemed like an eternity to those 
ashore. Throughout the suspense there had 
been a ray of comfort for them in the continuous 
cracking reports which told them that the aerial 
guns of the war-vessel were still going. 

Suddenly there was a lull in the sound of the 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


293 


firing. Instinctively all ashore looked up, and 
in the sky above the distant horizon they could 
dimly see a number of specks about the pirate 
aircraft which by this time was barely visible. 
Pretty soon there came to them the staccato 
roar of machine gun fire. 

“Hurrah!” shouted the men in glee, while 
Lockwood added joyously: “There are the re¬ 
inforcements. IPs a squadron of our airplanes. 
Captain Moore’s quit firing because he doesn’t 
want to hit any of our fellows. That’s it sure.” 

Redmond was not so jubilant. In fact he 
was greatly worried because in his mind there 
surged the memory of the last aerial battle 
between the pirate and the government aircraft. 
He immediately realized that unless the latter 
were much better equipped now, they did not 
stand a chance, despite their superior numbers. 

The battle was being fought at terrific speed, 
and Johnston was evidently using every man- 
euvre he could execute in fighting the squadron. 
The changing tactics brought the contending 
machine nearer to the island. 

At this point Redmond observed that the gov¬ 
ernment pilots were not flying in squadron for¬ 
mation. Instead they were spread out widely 
and were at different altitudes, with at least five 
hundred feet separating any two of them. He 
rightly guessed that this tactic was being fol¬ 
lowed as a result of the experience gained in 
the previous encounter with the pirate. 

At every opportunity each of the government 


294 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


ships fired a burst of tracer bullets at the pirate, 
who was maneuvring his plane with great skill, 
but Redmond’s expert eye quickly saw that 
Johnston, good as he undoubtedly was, could 
■ f not compare with Levanter, and he realized that 
in this equality alone lay the greatest oppor¬ 
tunity for the government craft. 

The pirate gunner was fighting back vigor¬ 
ously whenever a chance occurred. He too was 
using his machine gun for all it was worth. By 
this time the fight was directly over the beach 
on which the landing party was standing. Every 
man had his neck craned, watching intently, al¬ 
most breathlessly. 

Suddenly the leading government plane shot 
. straight across the nose of the pirate machine, 
level with it, and released a burst of fire which 
raked the pirate at short range and apparently 
damaged his starboard propeller. 

Undaunted the pirate let loose with his three 
inch gun, loaded with one of the deadly liquid 
oxygen shells. It caught the government ship 
squarely. A violent flash of flame broke out 
momentarily like a jewel in the daylight, and 
what was left of the government craft plunged 
like a plummet into the ocean, a hundred yards 
from the beach. The first blood was with the 
pirate. 


CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE 


The momentary victory of the pirate was 
dearly bought. He was no longer maneuvring 
as easily as he had been doing. His craft had 
become very sluggish on the turns and was 
[making them only with great difficulty, while 
[the uneven whir of his propellers emphasized the 
'trouble he was experiencing. The government 
forces quickly observed this and began to close 
in on it steadily, but somewhat cautiously. 

Johnston, realizing the turn in favor of his 
enemies, began to climb, but his ship was no 
longer superior to the government craft in this 
respect, and they easily maintained their ad¬ 
vantage by keeping well above him. 

Throughout these tactics the antagonists kept 
up a desultory fire with their machine guns, 
but no material damage was effected on either 
side. The latest maneuvre had taken both forces 
to a considerable altitude, and the men ashore 
had some difficulty in following the progress 
of the battle against the brilliant sky. 

For some time the fight continued in his 
manner without decisive action. Redmond was 
feeling easier because he realized now that the 
295 


296 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


odds which were in favor of the pirate at the 
beginning of the battle had been neutralized by 
the heroic action of the pilot who sacrificed 
himself by deliberately running his ship across 
the pirate’s nose to fire upon him at close 
range. 

Redmond looked seaward. The cruiser “New 
Orleans” had steamed in again and was moving 
around at high speed on an uneven course. He 
turned his gaze upward again, and as he did so 
an exclamation of surprise escaped his lips: 

All of the aerial craft were lower, but one 
of the government ships was directly above and 
very close to the pirate, traveling at the same 
rate of speed while the others were concentrat¬ 
ing a burst of fire upon the outlaw plane. 

Suddenly a small black object fell from the 
particular government ship which was in such 
excellent position above the pirate. A blinding 
fllash burst where the latter had been, followed 
by a thundrous crash which shook even those 
upon the ground by the intensity of its concus¬ 
sion. 

A gasp of awe escaped them as they watched 
intently. Rapidly the flash merged into the 
sunlight, and out of it there fell a few black¬ 
ened remnants of what had been the aerial 
scourge of the Pacific. Straight into the sea 
the wreckage plunged. 

The pirate was conquered at last! 

The suddeness of the ending left them spell¬ 
bound. As they watched they saw the ship which 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


297 


had struck the deathblow of the pirate spiral¬ 
ling down unevenly like a wounded bird, evi¬ 
dently in serious distress. The other machines 
were also descending. 

“Good God!” was all that Lockwood could 
say, but his expression clearly incicated the 
relief he felt. 

For several seconds they stood in amazed si¬ 
lence until all of the aircraft had descended 
upon the heaving surface of the ocean. By re¬ 
markable skill the pilot of the injured ship had 
succeeded in landing, pulling his craft out of 
its spin at the crucial moment, but it was indeed 
the roughest kind of a landing. 

The other machines with their wings retracted 
taxied over to him as rapidly as they could go. 
They were none too soon, for by the time they 
reached him the damaged airplane, badly water¬ 
logged, was being pounded by the heavy swell 
which surged over it. With great difficulty they 
succeeded in rescuing its crew just before the 
airplane disappeared below the waves. 

While the rescue was being effected the cruis¬ 
er steamed up to the scene, and the rest of the 
squadron went alongside her. 

It was quite some time before Lieutenant 
Lockwood recovered from the amazement which 
had left him enthralled during the thrilling en¬ 
counter in the skies. Moreover, he found it very 
difficult to realize that the pirate machine had 
been completely destroyed and its crew annihi¬ 
lated. After he had come back to realities he 


298 TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 

stood for a few minutes irresolute, then turning 
toward Redmond, he ejaculated: 

“I wonder what we’d better do now?” 

Before the latter could reply one of the land¬ 
ing party cried out: 

“The cruiser’s signalling us, sir.” 

All hands watched the semaphore arms above 
the bridge of the war-vessel as they moved up 
and down rapidly forming the words of the 
message. 

Lockwood who had read it said: 

“He’s instructing us to proceed across the 
island at once. The cruiser’s going to steam 
around. Let’s go.” 


CHAPTER FORTY 


Upon the “New Orleans” a most distressing 
incident was being enacted as the cruiser pro¬ 
ceeded around the eastern side of Patricinio 
Island. The commander of the squadron which 
had downed the pirate was none other than 
Kenneth Fitzgerald, and he it was who had 
dropped the chemical bomb which destroyed the 
outlaw. He was now lying unconscious on a 
hastily prepared cot aboard the warship in 
serious condition, with the ship’s surgeon in 
attendance. 

So close had he been to the pirate when the 
fatal bomb was released that the repercussion 
had damaged his ship and stricken him seriously 
by the full force of the concussion. By a su¬ 
preme effort of will he had summoned suf¬ 
ficient strength to guide his gyrating craft to a 
landing and had collapsed completely. 

His rescue under the existing conditions had 
been nothing short of miraculous, and only 
through the quick work of the rest of the squad¬ 
ron was it effected. They had performed the 
almost impossible in getting him from the water¬ 
logged machine through the heavy swell. 


300 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


Mary Ingleton was at his side doing what 
little she could to assist the surgeon’s efforts 
to revive him. She was in a highly nervous 
state, following the excitement of the recent 
battle, but the serious condition of Fitzgerald 
alarmed her and had a steadying effect upon her. 

In the meantime Eric Brant, the second in 
command of the squadron, was giving Captain 
Moore an account of the details which led up to 
the aerial battle. 

“At the time Captain Simmons was leaving 
Honolulu with the ‘New Orleans,’ ” he said, 
“we were undergoing special secret instructions 
with a new type of bomb which had just ar¬ 
rived from Washington. 

“We were told that the experts in the Chem¬ 
ical Corps had succeeded in duplicating the 
bombs manufactured by the pirate and, after 
further work, had improved on them. Ours are 
fitted with a safety devise which, in the event 
of accident to one of our machines, automatically 
releases the liquid gas without explosive effect. 

“They are mounted on a special rack which 
has a release trigger that sets a detonating cap 
on the bomb as it falls, so that it will explode 
on hitting. The instructors told us that these 
bombs would practically wipe out anything they 
struck. 

“Mr. Fitzgerald was placed in command, and 
practically all of us had been in the first fight 
with the pirate, so we knew just what we had 
to expect from him. 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


301 


“We all talked it over and we devised a new 
plan of attack, which we practiced every day 
in the air while we were awaiting instruction to 
move against him. In the first we were not 
able to attack him vigorously because we were 
in each other’s way to a great extent. Our new 
plan was designed to overcome this, and we 
practiced so as to be in a position where we 
could all attack simultaneously without fear of 
hitting each other. 

“The most important part of our plan was to 
keep the pirate engaged while one of the ma¬ 
chines maneuvred to get directly over him, so 
that the bomb could be dropped with a fair 
chance of hitting him squarely. 

“We realized that our only chance to put an 
end to him was with one of these bombs. Our 
machine gun fire was therefore planned to keep 
him engaged so as to permit the main attacking 
machine to get into position, ready to drop, 
the bomb at the first opportunity. 

“Our original instructions were to be ready 
to proceed on order, and a supply ship was to 
follow up as rapidly as possible after we left. 
W,e got the order sooner than we expected. It 
came hurriedly after receipt of your wireless. 
We were told to proceed to the southern side 
of the island and assist you. We were very 
surprised to see the pirate attacking you, as 
we had not expected to encounter him so soon. 

“It put us in a very bad position as we were 
pretty nearly out of fuel after our long flight. 


302 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


If the scrap had lasted much longer he would 
have got ns all for certain. 

“I imagine that’s the reason Mr. Fitzgerald 
took snch a terrible chance, so as not to miss 
his mark. He was too close when he dropped 
the bomb, and the shock damaged his ship. We 
were mighty lucky in being able to get him out 
of the water, and he did a fine piece of work 
in landing his ship under the circumstances.” 


CHAPTER FORTY-ONE 


As soon as he had received the instructions 
to proceed across the island from the cruiser 
Lieutenant Lockwood lined up his men and gave 
the order to advance. He took a position ahead 
of them, Redmond walking alongside him, lead¬ 
ing the way through the jungle. By noon the 
party had reached the cave in the center of the 
island, and a halt was made to eat and rest 
during the heat of the day. 

At three o’clock in the afternoon a fresh start 
was made, and an hour’s brisk march brought 
the party to the rock where Redmond had so 
often met Mary Ingleton. 

The New Orleans was already lying off the 
entrance to the harbor outside the mine belt 
which the pirate had laid down as a protection 
for himself. Otherwise everything bore a nor¬ 
mal appearance to Redmond. The familiar wisp 
of blue smoke curling up idly from the work¬ 
shop chimney told him the kanakas were busily 
engaged in their regular jobs. 

“Do you think we’ll have any trouble with 
them?” Lockwood asked Redmond. 

“I don’t think so,” replied the latter. 

303 


304 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


At this moment one of the men exclaimed: 

“There’s a boat coming in from the ship, sir.” 

“Well, I gness we’ll go down and meet it,” 
said Lockwood. He gave an order to the chief 
petty oficer to remain with the landing party 
until he returned. He then set off with Red¬ 
mond for the beach. 

By the time they arrived there the boat was 
already tied up to the old mooring ring of the 
pirate’s airplane, and two officers had come 
ashore. One of them was the ship’s surgeon. 

“I came along,” he told Lockwood, as soon 
as they caught up with one another, “to see 
what condition Levanter is in. If he can be 
moved, the captain’s instructions are to bring 
him aboard immediately. 

“Well! We might as well get over there right 
away,” remarked Lockwood who then signalled 
to his men to join him. As soon as they came 
up he instructed them to seize the workshop and 
bring the Kanakas out. 

While the landing party was engaged in this 
task the three officers and Redmond entered Le¬ 
vanter’s room in the living hut. 

As they entered Redmond halted abruptly 
and an involuntary gasp of astonishment es¬ 
caped his lips. Levanter was lying on his cot, 
and the Kanaka chief was alongside him. The 
pirate’s features had visibly shrunk and his 
skin was tightly drawn across his hollowed 
cheeks. His eyes stood out, uncanny and pierc- 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


305 


ing, while the flush of fever which suffused his 
cheeks gave him an unnatural appearance. 

He started in surprise as he saw the stran¬ 
gers enter his room. With an effort he raised 
his weakened body upon his elbows and then 
exclaimed: 

“Who are you? How did you get here?” 

Redmond went over to his bedside. 

“I’m the man who shot you,” he said. “You 
have never seen me before, but I’ve been on 
your island for weeks. We are here now be¬ 
cause you have come to the end of your rope.” 

The pirate sank back upon his pillow. For 
several moments he remained motionless. Fi¬ 
nally he asked: 

“Where is my ship?” 

“It’s lying on the bottom of the ocean,” re¬ 
plied Redmon. 

“What happened to Johnston and my crew, 
then?” 

“They are lying there with it. It it’s any 
satisfaction to you, they died fighting.” 

Levanter raised himself again, his eyes flash¬ 
ing with hate. 

“Damn you!” he snapped. “If I’d been there 
you wouldn’t have had a chance.” 

“That’s just where you are wrong,” said Red¬ 
mond cooly. “The government beat you at your 
own game.” 

At this moment the surgeon stepped for¬ 
ward and pushed Redmond back. He saw how 
critical the pirate’s condition was, and was anx- 


306 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


ions to put an end to the altercation which was 
rapidly causing the injured man’s temperature 
to rise dangerously. 

“Lie down,” he commanded. 

“What are you going to do with me?” en¬ 
quired Levantner as he obeyed. 

“I’m going to find out what’s the matter with 
you,” replied the surgeon who, after taking the 
pirate’s temperature and pulse, examined the in¬ 
jured leg. He then dressed the wound as care¬ 
fully as he could with the limited facilities at 
his disposal. As soon as this task was com¬ 
pleted he went over to his two companions. 

“We’ll have to get back to the ship as rapidly 
as possible and put him in the sick bay. It’s 
a dangerous job. The shock will probably kill 
him, but it’s our only chance to save him. He’ll 
die quick enough if he’s left here.” 

“I didn’t know he was as badly as that,” said 
Redmond. 

“He’s in pretty bad shape,” added the sur¬ 
geon. “We’ve got to amputate that leg, and 
there’s no time to lose. In fact, I think it’s too 
late now.” 

Without further ado Lockwood went out. The 
landing party had already marshalled the Kana¬ 
kas together outside the huts and was standing 
by waiting further instructions. 

Lockwood called two of his men over to him 
and ordered them to carry the pirate on the 
stretcher into the launch. He then instructed 
the others to wait with the Kanakas until a 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


307 


boat could be sent over from tbe warship to 
transfer the wounded pirate. 

The two men quickly lifted the latter on the 
stretcher and then carried him down to the land¬ 
ing place where the three officers assisted in 
placing him aboard. 


1 


CHAPTER FORTY-TWO 


As soon as the launch came up alongside the 
cruiser “New Orleans” it was fastened to the 
block and tackle of its davit and hoisted up 
until it was level with the main deck. When this 
had been done it was pulled inboard, and from 
this position the wounded pirate was lifted out 
under the supervision of the surgeon and car¬ 
ried down to the ship’s hospital. 

Redmond and the two officers had previously 
got oft the launch and had gone up the accom¬ 
modation ladder. Captain Moore was on deck 
to meet them. 

“Well, I guess our job’s done, captain,” said 
Redmond. 

“Yes,” replied the commander. “We were 
very lucky in many ways, especially in the fortu¬ 
nate arrival of our airplane squadron. The gov¬ 
ernment owes you a great deal, though. If it 
hadn’t been for your splendid work, the pirate 
would have still been operating.” 

Redmond flushed under the praise, stuttered a 
moment and changing the embarrassing subject, 
said: 


308 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 


309 


“How is the pilot of the ship which we 
brought down?” 

“Ah! there’s where we were unlucky,” replied 
Captain Moore. “That pilot was the comman¬ 
der of the squadron, and he’s in very had shape 
suffering from shock.” 

“I’m sorry to hear that indeed. He certainly 
had his nerve attacking the way he did. Who 
is he?” 

“Commander Fitzgerald.” 

“What!” exclaimed Redmond in astonish¬ 
ment. 

The captain looked at him, surprised at the 
manner in which he spoke. “Why, do you know 
him?” he asked. 

“Yes,” said Redmon sharply. 

“Well he’s on the quarterdeck now, resting 
easily the last time I saw him. Miss Ingleton 
is nursing him. Do you want to see him?” 

Redmond pondered a moment before replying. 
The news imparted to him innocently enough 
by Captain Moore had brought him back from 
the realm of action and excitement into that of 
sentiment. For several seconds his mind was 
prey to a score of bitter thoughts. Again he 
fought with himself as he realized that another 
man stood between him and the possibility of 
his future happiness. The knowledge enraged- 
him, and for the first time in his life he ex¬ 
perienced the violence of hatred. 

He hated himself as well, and in his mind 
he railed at the fate which had led him to the 


310 


TEE FLYING BUCCANEER 


altar of love and then dashed happiness from 
his grasp. He was more than ever convinced 
that Mary and Fitzgerald were betrothed. The 
words uttered many weeks ago by the Base Com¬ 
mander at Honolulu, which clearly indicated it, 
came back to taunt him as he struggled with 
his conflicting emotions. 

Finally his better nature began to exert itself. 
At least, he argued with himself, Mary would be 
happy now, and after all that was the most im¬ 
portant thing. He turned to Captain Moore and 
said: 

“I guess I’ll go over and see him.” 

The two started aft. As they reached the 
quarterdeck Mary Ingleton happened to glance 
up from the cot on which Fitzgerald was lying. 
She jumped to her feet and rushed over to him, 
holding her hands out to Redmond. 

“Oh! I’m so glad to see you, Howard,” she 
exclaimed. “I was worried to death about you 
while that dreadful fight was going on.” 

Redmond was completely overcome by the 
warmth of her greeting, which he did not expect. 
He took her hands in his, but managed to hold 
himself in check. 

“I’m so glad you’re glad, Mary,” he said. 

His quiet reply dampened her enthusiasm, and 
she looked at him somewhat puzzled. Captain 
Moore had already gone ahead toward Fitzger¬ 
ald, so they were left standing together. Red¬ 
mond was the first to speak again. 


THE FLYING BUCCANEER 311 

“I was sorry to hear about Fitzgerald/’ he 
said. 

“Yes,” replied Mary, “he is seriously hurt.” 

“It must have been a great blow to you, Mary. 
I hope he will soon get well because you deserve 
happiness after all you have been through.” 

“Why, Howard!” she exclaimed. “How 
strangely you speak! I don’t know what you 
are talking about.” 

“Aren’t you and he engaged?” queried Ked- 
mond. 

“Why no,” laughed Mary. “Whatever put 
that silly notion in your head?” 

You’re not?” he exclaimed in surprise. 

She heartily laughed at his astonishment, then 
she replied. 

“No! I’m not engaged to anyone,” she said 
with a taunting air. 

“Oh! Mary,” he gasped haltingly. 

“Yes, Howard.” 

“Oh! Wliat can I say? I love you with all 
my heart. I’ve been dying to tell you for a 
long, long time, but I thought you were already 
engaged, and I didn’t dare.” 

“Why you poor silly boy. I’ve known it for 
weeks,” she said gently. 

“Can you love me too?” he pleaded. 

She looked at him teasingly, with laughter in 
her eyes, watching his evident anxiety. Then 
as the lines upon his face deepened she lowered 
her glance and said: 

“I do.” 











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